The table presents information about how many people visited UK through three major

airports over a five-year period from 1998 to 2003.

In general, it can be seen that there was fluctuating trend in the number of visitors who
travel via Heathrow, while the other two airports saw upward trends. Another interesting
point is that Gatwick was the most prevalent during the whole given period.
Looking at detailed, for the first year, Gatwick recorded 36.5 million of travellers,
approximately twice times as Stansted which started at 17.3 million. After that, three
years following, there was a rise in using two airports, a considerable increase in Gatwick
(to 47.3 million) and sharply in Stansted (to 43.3 million). Subsequently, the figure of
Gatwick grew up consistently steadily, finishing at 69.3 million, while Stansted airport
remained stable at 43.3 million until the end of period.
By constrast, the number of people using Heathrow airport went in the different direction.
From 27.2 million in the first year, the number increased remarkably, reaching the peak
point at 48.2 million in 2000, but this was followed by a dramatic fall to 33.2 million in
2002. There was then a surge to 45.6 in 2003.