<P> This is a list of the busiest airports in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man ranked by total passenger traffic, compiled from Civil Aviation Authority data from 2006 to 2016 . For some years the figures also show total aircraft movements and cargo volume handled at each airport . For a complete list of UK airports, see List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies . </P> <P> The United Kingdom, an island country, is home to many of Europe's largest and busiest airports . London - Heathrow, which handles over 75 million international passengers annually, is the largest airport in the UK . London serves as the largest aviation hub in the world by passenger traffic, with six international airports, handling over 163 million passengers in 2016, more than any other city . London's second - busiest airport, London - Gatwick, was until 2016 the world's busiest single - runway airport . Manchester Airport is the United Kingdom's third - busiest airport . London - Stansted and London - Luton are the fourth - and fifth - busiest airports, respectively . </P> <P> The largest airport operator in the United Kingdom is Heathrow Airport Holdings (owner of Heathrow), followed by Manchester Airports Group (owner of Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth). Together with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, they are part of the Aviation Foundation which lobby for the aviation needs of the United Kingdom . </P>

Which is the busiest airport in the uk