How Many London Airports Are There

話題沸騰中の How Many London Airports Are Thereについて、多角的な視点を整理して公開しています。

Now we enter the weird zone. RAF Northolt (NHT) is a military base just 10 miles from central London. It handles VIP flights and the occasional discreet private jet, but no public departures. Yet, it’s listed as an airport serving the capital.

Or Blackbushe Airport (BBS)—a grass strip that was once a WWII base. It’s technically in Hampshire, but a few signs call it “London Blackbushe.” Again, branding over reality. Counting these as “London” feels like counting a shed as a mansion.

Then there’s the airport that doesn’t exist anymore: Croydon Airport. It was London’s first major airport in the 1920s, but it closed in 1959. Now it’s a housing estate. Dead airports don’t count, obviously, but they remind you how fluid the definition is.

The Unofficial Ones and the Train Stations

Let’s not forget London Heliport in Battersea. It’s a tiny helipad for rich folks and aerial photos. Is it an airport? Technically, yes—it has flights. But most people wouldn’t list it when asked.

List Of Airports In Uk: Uk Airport Map – CLIDM

And here’s my favorite curveball: some travel guides count St. Pancras International as an “airport” because it offers direct train services to Eurostar and the European mainland. Absurd? Yes. But so is calling Southend a London airport, given it’s 40 miles away and feels like a provincial bus station.

So, depending on your definition, the number ranges from six (commercial and practical) to over fifteen if you include heliports, RAF bases, and ghost strips. Your call.