Originally Posted by
PukinDog
Comparing just the 4 busiest (by aircraft movement) airports in each area last year...
New York
JFK - 456,000
EWR - 453,000
LGA - 372,000
TEB - 175,000
Total - 1,456,000
London
LHR - 475,000
LGW - 286,000
STN - 190,000
LTN - 134,000
Total - 1,085,000
Difference: 371,000, or 1,000+ per day. In other words, to reach comparable traffic numbers the London 4 would have to add 1 LaGuardia airport.
Or, to put it another way, 4 US airports with 11 runways total move 34% more traffic than 4 UK airports with 6 runways total... (#justsayin... For every statistic there is another one!)
However, the airspace volume issue is very relevant to the discussion!