London loses status as world’s capital of aviation

London loses status as world’s capital of aviation

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With Heathrow, and the world's busiest single-runway airport Gatwick, the capital handled 126.5 million passengers in 2019 - more than any other city.

Once Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend were added, the UK's biggest metropolis looked unassailable, with tens of millions more passengers annually than any other city.

Image only for representation

"Far from Britain declining as an aviation superpower, the capital's global lead over every other city in the world is increasing,“ The Independent wrote in 2015 - after yet another  year in which London had once again trounced the aviation competition.

But according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), London's connectivity has fallen by two-thirds. It is now in eighth place “” behind no fewer than five Chinese cities, as well as two US hubs.

The first four places are taken by Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, followed by Chicago, Shenzhen “” across the internal Chinese border from Hong Kong - and Los Angeles.

In ninth and tenth positions are Dallas and Atlanta.

New York, Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Seoul have dropped out of the top 10.

Sebastian Mikosz, senior vice-president for IATA, said: "The dramatic shift in