Originally Posted by
Cough
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!
Congestion is a function of both traffic and airspace volume/complexity, making movement numbers just as relevant to any discussion that tries to compare levels of congestion. Not sure why those who first sought to compare NY TRACON chose London TMA and their controllers to do so except to pump the tires of the latter while ignoring the effects of congestion. The 2 locales are not equivalent.