The world’s busiest single-runway airports – where and what opportunities for expansion?
Those conversant with the multiple runway airports that are hubs in North America, Europe, and to a lesser degree in Asia Pacific, might be led to believe that a single-runway airport is most likely to be found in a small regional city, or an off-the-beaten-track vacation destination.
But that is far from the truth.
Europe's 10th and 12th busiest airports figure in the Top 3 in the list of 46 of the busiest single-runway airports globally, here, along with Asia Pacific's own 14th busiest.
London, the busiest and most complex aviation city hub in the world, has three entries, while the busiest of the lot there manages to make do with two, shining a light on the peculiar way in which the UK handles flight activity in its capital city.
Meanwhile, there is a single 'low cost' airport in the list, suggesting that those airports that specialise in that model will never grow to any significant size, while one of only two identifiable vacation airports (with more inward traffic than outward) secures the 12th place in the listing.
There are many takeaways from this list, but the main one is that the cost of an additional runway, which will never bring in additional traffic rapidly, is always a very long term investment; maybe, in many cases - too much to bear, and therefore to justify.
Summary
- Few very busy airports operate with only one runway, but there are a handful that do manage it.
- The single-runway list here does include a few surprises.
- The majority of busy single-runway airports are in Asia Pacific and Europe.
- There are multiple single site runways by the bucket load in the US, but hardly any new airports, and precious few new runways.
- Europe has the only outright ‘low cost’ airport in the list, and the most evident ‘vacation airport’.
- UK runway distribution varies from the norm, especially in the capital.
- Gatwick versus Mumbai is a draw and Navi Mumbai might change things.
- Mixed mode is OK; dual use at the same time isn’t – at least, yet.
- Is in-terminal technology the answer?
- The table is fluid – airports drop out and can come in rapidly.
Few very busy airports operate with only one runway, but there are a handful that do manage it
Quite frequently, CAPA - Centre for Aviation makes reference to an airport with an observation that it might benefit from an additional runway at some time in the future, or words to that effect. Alternatively, that it should be able to cope with only one runway, possibly with an extension, for numerous years into the future.
The bigger picture perhaps is of very busy airports like Dubai International and London Heathrow that somehow manage on two runways - although the fact that there are so many widebody movements at both airports helps of course. A full Airbus A380 is worth 2-3 times an A320 or Boeing 737-800.
The single-runway list does include a few surprises
Few very busy airports are operating with only one runway but among them are a few surprises.
The following list, which has been compiled from various sources, identifies them, along with appropriate updating and factual rectification and comment from CAPA - Centre for Aviation.
No absolute guarantee can be given that the table is accurate. Some airports may have been overlooked.
In several cases second runways are under construction right now, while in others there are clear opportunities likely to arise.
That is the main purpose of the report; to identify those opportunities for traffic forecasting, design, financing and construction purposes.
The list is restricted to the top 46 airports and with a cut-off point at 10mppa.
|
Rank |
City |
Country |
Region |
Airport |
Passengers in 2024 (millions) |
Runway length (ft) |
Notes |
|
1 |
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Intl |
54.8 |
11,302 |
Dispute as to number of runways. |
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|
2 |
London |
43.2 |
10, 879 |
Dispute as to number of runways. |
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|
3 |
35.1 |
12,156 |
Dispute as to number of runways. Busiest single-runway airport in mainland Europe. Will be replaced by new airport in 2034. |
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|
4 |
London |
29.8 |
10,003 |
No plans for a second runway. |
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|
5 |
Gaoqi Intl |
27.9 |
11,155 |
New airport (Xiang'an) under construction. |
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|
6 |
Urumqui |
Tianshan Intl |
27.8 |
11,811 |
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|
7 |
International |
25.2 |
9,401 |
Busiest single-runway airport in North America. |
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|
8 |
Taoxian Intl |
23.7 |
10,499 |
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|
9 |
Phoenix Intl |
21.4 |
11,155 |
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|
10 |
Yaoquiang Intl |
20.0 |
11,814 |
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|
11 |
International |
19.3 |
10,827 |
New Jinzhouwan Intl Apt under construction will replace this one. |
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|
12 |
Alicante-Elche |
Miguel Hernandez |
18.4 |
9,842 |
No plans for a second runway. |
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|
13 |
Cointrin |
17.8 |
12,795 |
No plans for a second runway. Physical constraints. This one is longest in Switzerland. |
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|
14 |
Longjia Intl |
17.6 |
10,499 |
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|
15 |
Lanzhou |
Zongchuan Intl |
17.0 |
11,811 |
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|
16 |
London |
16.7 |
7,093 |
Being expanded via master plan to 32mppa, but insufficient space for additional runway. |
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|
17 |
Francisco de Sá Carneiro |
15.9 |
11,417 |
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|
18 |
15.8 |
8,386 |
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|
19 |
Changle Intl |
15.3 |
11,841 |
A second runway is approved for an expansion project. |
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|
20 |
15.3 (2023) |
13,317 |
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|
21 |
Wusu Intl |
14.8 |
11,811 |
A new 3,600m second runway is about to open. |
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|
22 |
Lishe Intl |
14.7 |
10,499 |
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|
23 |
Wuxu Intl |
14.0 |
10,499 |
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|
24 |
José María Córdova Intl |
13.8 |
11,670 |
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|
25 |
Tenerife |
Tenerife Sur (South) |
13.7 |
10,498 |
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|
26 |
Baita Intl |
13.2 |
11,811 |
A new airport (Shengle) is under construction, with two runways. |
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|
27 |
Jinwan |
13.0 |
13,517 |
A second runway is planned, to be 2,600m (8,500ft) long. |
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|
28 |
International |
12.8 |
11,499 |
New 'Dholera' airport under construction. |
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|
29 |
12.8 |
10,013 |
No plans for second runway, existing one has been extended in last five years. |
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|
30 |
Capodichino |
12.6 |
8,622 |
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|
31 |
Hefei |
Xinqiao |
12.5 |
11,155 |
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|
32 |
Longwan Intl |
12.5 |
10,499 |
A 3,600m second runway is under construction. |
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|
33 |
12.4 |
10,630 |
Also acts as an airport for São Paulo. |
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|
34 |
Tancredo Neves International (aka Confins) |
12.4 |
11,811 |
Concession agreement demands construction of a second runway, but was delayed. |
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|
35 |
Fontanarossa |
12.3 |
7,989 |
Catania Airport intends to build a second runway as part of a larger modernisation and expansion project. The new runway is a key component of the airport's Masterplan 2030. |
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|
36 |
Southwest Florida Intl |
11.0 |
12,000 |
The airport has plans for a second, parallel runway, with construction potentially starting in the early 2040s. |
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|
37 |
Kochi |
Cochin Intl |
10.9 |
11,302 |
There are plans for a second runway, but there is no immediate prospect of its construction. |
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|
38 |
Bali |
Denpasar Ngurah Rai Intl |
10.8 (Jan-Nov-2024) |
9,843 |
Potential North Bali Intl Airport to be built. |
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|
39 |
Manises |
10.8 |
10,548 |
There are currently no plans for a second runway. |
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|
40 |
Guglielmo Marconi |
10.8 |
9,196 |
There are no plans for a second runway. |
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|
41 |
International |
10.8 |
10,259 |
May change its name to Oakland San Francisco Bay. Has four runways, but three are for general aviation. |
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|
42 |
Rinas |
10.7 |
9,022 |
The airport is planning a second runway as part of a major investment programme to increase capacity and accommodate future growth, including intercontinental flights. |
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|
43 |
Milan |
10.6 |
8,012 |
Technically, Linate has two runways, but the 600m second one is used only by general aviation. |
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|
44 |
10.6 |
6,598 |
The airport is planning to extend the runway by an estimated 150m to improve operational efficiency. It is very short, at barely over 2000m. |
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|
45 |
10.5 |
10,499 |
Recently extended from 2500m to 3200m. |
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|
46 |
Loheagon |
10.2 |
8,329 |
There is a second runway that is now used solely as a taxiway. |
Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation Airport profiles, Panethos, Voronoi.
The majority of busy single-runway airports are in Asia Pacific and Europe
There are a number of interesting takeaways from the table.
Firstly, the distribution. The vast majority of these busy single-runway airports are in Asia Pacific (21, or 46%) and Europe (18 or 39%), out of the 46 in total.
North America and South America have three each, while the Middle East has one and Africa - none.
Both of those leading regions have constraints generally applicable to them, such as environmental opposition to new infrastructure and runway extensions, and it is in those regions, especially Asia Pacific, where one finds the greatest propensity towards the likelihood of a second runway, or a second airport.
That is particularly so in the case of China, which counts for 16 (35%) of these airports.
In South America it is more a case of passenger demand being on a smaller scale: only 10 airports there come above the 10mppa threshold that was used for this table.
Multiple runways by the bucket load in the US, but no new airports, and precious few new runways
In North America, where demand is at its highest level, especially domestically, one typically finds multiple runways.
Looking at the whole system in Chicago for example, the two airports, O'Hare and Midway, between them have no less than 13 runways.
Thus cities like San Diego (especially, it is the US' eighth most populous city), Fort Myers and Oakland are genuine outliers.
Moreover, as there is next to no building of new airports going on in the US and Canada, emphasis continues to fall on adding runways at existing airports.
But even then, there are only three that are detailed in the CAPA Airport Construction Database.
(Tip: The CAPA Airport Construction Database can be interrogated in many ways, including 'new runway' and 'runway extension').
The Middle East is dominated by the 'Big 3' airports - Dubai International, Doha and Abu Dhabi, with Saudi Arabian airports coming up fast on the rails. Thus, it is not a case of a lack of single-runway airports as a lack of passengers at them that prompts only one table inclusion.
And much the same applies to Africa as it does in South America. Only five airports there exceed the 10mppa cut-off for the table, and each of those has two or more runways.
Europe has the only outright 'low cost' airport in the list and the most evident 'vacation airport'
Europe is an interesting case for several reasons.
Firstly, as the location of the only recognised 'low cost' airport in the table - Brussels South Charleroi, where 98.2% of seat capacity in the week commencing 30-Jun-2025 is on LCCs (i.e. Ryanair). The rest are either 'full service/legacy' or hybrid.
Alicante-Elche, in 12th place and with burgeoning traffic but no apparent commitment from operator AENA to build a second runway, is one of only two airports in the list that can be identified as vacation-oriented airports, being the only aviation point of entry to the Costa Blanca, which is arguably the most successful of the Spanish regions for tourism. And it contains Spain and Europe's busiest single resort city (Benidorm).
The other is Bali, while Sanya, Fort Myers and Edinburgh are on the fringe (a pun - the Edinburgh fringe [alternative live stage performances] is a popular attraction for visitors).
UK runway distribution varies from the norm, especially in the capital
And more so interesting is the UK, which has six airports listed in the table - three of them are in London, which has two in the top four and three in the top 16. The UK is close to unique in how it handles passenger traffic distribution.
It is quite a different system from most other major economies, where most activity at the busiest cities (capitals and/or commercial centres) is shoehorned into one or two airports with multiple runways. In London's case it has seven runways in total, spread across six airports.
The airport there with two runways is the second busiest in the world after Dubai International with that paucity of runway capacity - London Heathrow - while London Gatwick is the world's busiest single-runway airport.
The latter part of that statement contradicts what appears in the table and requires some explanation.
Gatwick versus Mumbai - seconds out! Round 1
There is an ongoing argument about which is the busier airport among the leading two single-runway facilities, London Gatwick and Mumbai. Advocates for either argue that the other has two runways.
In actuality, Mumbai Airport (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International) has two intersecting runways, but only one is operational at a time. While the airport has two runways, 09/27 and 14/32, they intersect, meaning they cannot be used simultaneously for take offs and landings.
In Gatwick's case, it technically has two runways, but one is in use as a taxiway. It has been used this way for many years, and will remain that way until it is converted back into the 'northern runway' to be used expressly for short haul take offs, and that won't happen before 2030. And in any case, it will have to be moved northwards so that the two runways can operate simultaneously.
It can be used as a runway now (it is 2,565m long) if the main runway is not available, but that can present operational difficulties, and is a very rare occurrence.
If push came to shove, Gatwick wins the argument because its second runway right now is being used as a taxiway, while Mumbai's runways are runways, but such is the gap in the number of passengers handled in 2024 (11.6 million passengers) that it would be churlish not to acknowledge Mumbai as number 1.
The situation could change when the Navi Mumbai Airport comes on line, which should happen in 2025. Some airlines might opt to relocate there.
Mixed mode is ok; dual use at the same time isn't, at least yet
It is clear from the table that there is considerable variation in runway length, in fact between 13,500ft (the longest, 4,115m) and 6,600ft (the shortest, 2,012m).
It has been theorised that a very long runway could potentially be used in both directions at once (simultaneous landing and take off in the same direction, which is the normal procedure anyway).
However, for practical purposes it is outlawed, and for obvious reasons, such as that it might be the case that a flight might need additional length for either purpose on occasion, or have to overshoot. And where would you put the arrestor bed?
Future technological developments could make it possible, but most operators would be wary.
The more realistic outcome would be mixed mode operation, meaning that a runway could be designated for both arriving and departing aircraft but not at the same time, as above. Of course, that happens with a single-runway airport anyway; mixed mode might apply, though, at an airport like London Heathrow, where there are two parallel runways, one handling take offs and the other landings. A third runway might offer mixed mode with both take offs and landings.
Is in-terminal technology the answer?
There are a growing number of airports that are seeking to optimise throughput by way of a variety of in-terminal operational measures, rather than engaging in additional costly construction.
As reported in the table, many of these airports are considering, or actually building, a second runway (or in some cases a second airport) right now.
The table is fluid - airports drop out and can come in rapidly
Moreover, the table could have looked different only a few years ago as, for example, Dublin Airport in Ireland formally added a second (parallel) runway in Aug-2022, 1.7 km to the north of one of the existing ones. Before that its situation was similar to the one at Mumbai, as it actually had two intersecting runways so that only one could be used at any one time, depending on wind direction.
Similarly - Fukuoka Airport in Japan added a second runway in Mar-2025.
Based on 2024 passenger traffic data, had neither of them added a second runway Dublin would have been at number 4 in the table while it might be argued that Fukuoka should be in the table anyway, as its second runway did not exist in 2024. If so, it would have been in position number 7.
And in the US the John Wayne Airport at Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles in California, might have counted, because while it has two runways, one is used only for general aviation. In that case, it would be at position number 35.
Furthermore, the table could change again in the early 2030s, or perhaps even sooner, simply from the advent of the Western Sydney Airport in Australia, which anticipates reaching 10mppa quite quickly. In that instance the operator, which will be the government in the first instance, has at least identified already the need for a second runway from around 2040.
There will undoubtedly be other similar cases. The main message coming out of this survey is that the commitment to an expensive second runway (they typically cost hundreds of millions of dollars) at any airport is huge, but that unlike terminals they cannot be 'configured' to meet the demand.
If they have to be built - then so be it.