London City Airport (IATA: LCY, ICAO: EGLC) is an international airport in London. It is located on a former Docklands site in the London Borough of Newham, some 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) east of the City of London and a rather smaller distance east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial industry, which is a major user of the airport. The airport was developed by the engineering company Mowlem in 1986-87 and is now owned by a consortium comprising Highstar Capital and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
London City Airport has a single 1,500-metre (4,900 ft) long runway, and a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P728) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flight training (but only for training necessary for the operation of aircraft at the airport). Only multi-engine, fixed-wing aircraft with special aircraft and aircrew certification to fly 5.5° approaches are allowed to conduct operations at London City Airport.
In 2013, London City served over 3.3 million passengers, a 12% increase compared with 2012 and a record total for the airport. It was the fifth busiest airport in passengers and aircraft movements serving the London area after Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton and the 15th busiest in the UK.
§History
§Proposal and construction
The airport was first proposed in 1981 by Reg Ward, who was Chief Executive of the newly formed London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) that was responsible for the regeneration of the area. He in turn discussed the proposal with Sir Philip Beck (Chairman of John Mowlem & Co plc) and the idea of an airport for Docklands was born. By November of that year Mowlem and Brymon Airways had submitted an outline proposal to the LDDC for a Docklands STOLport city centre gateway.
On 27 June 1982 Brymon Captain Harry Gee landed a de Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft on Heron Quays, in the nearby West India Docks, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the STOLport project. Later that year the LDDC published a feasibility study, an opinion poll amongst local residents showed a majority in favour of the development of the airport, and Mowlem submitted the application for planning permission.
A 63 day planning inquiry started on 6 June 1983. By the middle of the following year, Nicholas Ridley the Secretary of State for Transport had indicated that he was disposed to agree the application, but asked for further details. The Greater London Council brought an action in the High Court of Justice to reopen the inquiry. After the High Court dismissed the action in March 1985, outline planning permission was granted in May of that year, followed by the grant of detailed planning permission in early 1986.
Construction began on the site shortly after permission was granted, with Charles, Prince of Wales laying the foundation stone of the terminal building, designed by R Seifert and Partners, on 2 May 1986. The first aircraft landed on 31 May 1987, with the first commercial services operating from 26 October 1987. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened London City Airport in November of the same year.
Placing a commercial airport under congested airspace (the London Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA)) was a challenge for the National Air Traffic Services (NATS). In the event, a new air traffic control service position was commissioned to provide services to aircraft in the airspace, Thames Radar, providing a radar control service, separating and expediting London City arrivals and departures and the regular traffic crossing and operating within the local area.
§Opening and runway extension
In 1988, the first full year of operation, the airport handled 133,000 passengers. The earliest scheduled flights were operated to and from Plymouth, Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. With a runway of only 1,080 m (3,543 ft) in length, and a slope of the glidepath of 7.5° (for noise abatement reasons), the airport could only be used by a very limited number of aircraft types, principally the Dash 7 and the smaller Dornier Do 228. In 1989, the airport submitted a planning application to extend the runway, allowing the use of a larger number of aircraft types.
In 1990 the airport handled 230,000 passengers, but the figures fell drastically after the Gulf War and did not recover until 1993, when 245,000 passengers were carried. By this time the extended runway had been approved and opened (on 5 March 1992). At the same time the glidepath was reduced to 5.5°, still steep for a European airport (the slope of an airport glidepath is normally 3.0°), but sufficient to allow a larger range of aircraft, including the BAe 146 regional jet liner, to serve the airport. Regardless, with a wind direction from the east (of 14 knots or more), approaches must be done from the west and the City of London. Here several tall buildings makes approaches from the west unnecessarily hazardous and may disturb both ILS-system (the localizer and glideslope instrumentation in cockpit). Tall buildings also forces pilots to use "canyon landing" techniques (which among other things calls for the use of the so-called speed brakes). Also for approaches from the east, the tall buildings make go-arounds unnecessarily difficult, and due to the short runway late go-arounds are more often called for.
By 1995 passenger numbers reached half a million, and Mowlem sold the airport to Irish businessman Dermot Desmond. Five years later passenger numbers had climbed to 1,580,000, and over 30,000 flights were operated. In 2002 a jet centre catering to corporate aviation was opened, as well as additional aircraft stands at the western end of the apron. In 2003 a new ground holding point was established at the eastern end of the runway, enabling aircraft awaiting takeoff to hold there whilst other aircraft landed.
§Further expansion
On 2 December 2005, London City Airport DLR station opened on a branch of the Docklands Light Railway, providing rail access to the airport for the first time, and providing fast rail links to Canary Wharf and the City of London. By 2006, more than 2.3 million passengers used London City Airport.
In October 2006, the airport was purchased from Dermot Desmond by a consortium comprising insurer AIG Financial Products Corp. and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). In the final quarter of 2008 GIP increased its stake in the airport to 75%, the remaining 25% belonging to Highstar Capital.
London City Airport was granted planning permission to construct an extended apron with four additional aircraft parking stands and four new gates to the east of the terminal in 2001; they became operational on 30 May 2008. They are carried on piles above the water of the King George V Dock.
In September 2009, British Airways commenced the first scheduled transatlantic flights from the airport, with a twice daily service to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport using a specially configured Airbus A318 aircraft. (Technically, only the eastbound leg is transatlantic, as the plane cannot carry enough fuel due to take off weight limitations because of the short runway at the airport; on the westbound leg, the plane stops in Shannon Airport to refuel, during which time passengers avail of US border preclearance.) The A318 is the smallest airliner to operate transatlantic since BA's corporate predecessor, BOAC, began transatlantic jet flights on 4 October 1958, with the De Havilland Comet 4. The first day of the service, one week after Willie Walsh of British Airways pledged to the UN that aviation would deliver deep cuts in carbon emissions, was disrupted by activists from Plane Stupid and Fight the Flights dressed up in business suits.
§London Olympics 2012
Before the Games of the XXX Olympiad it was reported that over £7 million (in 2011) was invested in the terminal to extend the Central Search area and adding other improvements. During the Games, though, the airport operated only restricted hours and experienced street block closures (for security), and the low capacity ramp and short runway excluded most long-range arrivals. However, it was the closest airport to Olympic Park, with normal scheduled travel by road of 15 min.
§2030 vision
In early 2013 work is expected to start on a £15m investment programme to refurbish the western pier with new departure gates and improved lounges and to redevelop the international arrivals hall and baggage handling areas. The airport also has produced a master plan outlining their vision for growth up to 2030. The plan shows an expansion of the airport to a maximum capacity of 8 million passengers per annum, without the addition of a second runway, or significant expansion of the airport boundaries.
In response to the UK government white paper The Future of Air Transport, the airport operators have produced a master plan outlining their vision for growth up to 2030. The plan was subject to public consultation during spring 2006, and has been republished incorporating comments from this consultation. The master plan shows a phased expansion of the airport, giving the capability of handling 8 million passengers per annum by 2030. It does not propose the addition of a second runway, or significant expansion of the airport boundaries.
Phase 1 of this development would be undertaken by 2015. It would include the in-progress construction of the eastern apron extension and provision of a finger pier to the south of this apron to provide passenger access to aircraft using the new parking stands. The terminal building would also be extended to use the triangle of land between it and the railway station. The existing jet centre serving corporate aviation would be extended, a new hangar built to allow aircraft maintenance, and a replacement fire station provided.
Phases 2 and 3 would be undertaken between 2015 and 2030. Further aircraft parking stands would be built to the east of the terminal, and a taxiway would be constructed alongside and to the south of the runway, to avoid the need for aircraft to back-track on the runway. Both these developments would involve further reduction in the water area of the King George V Dock. The existing fuel farm would be relocated to a site at the east of the airport, where it could be supplied by barge, and linked to a hydrant based supply system, thus eliminating both road tanker deliveries and on-airport fuel bowser movements. The existing surface car park would be replaced by a multi-storey car park, allowing extension of the vehicle drop-off and pick up area. The jet centre and hangar facilities would be further extended. Finally the existing terminal building would be replaced.
In line with phase 1 of the master plan, London City Airport made a planning application to the London Borough of Newham in August 2007. This would allow it to increase the number of flights per year from 80,000 to 120,000 by 2010. In July 2008, the Planning Officer for Newham Council produced a report on the Planning Application, recommending that planning permission be granted. The decision was deferred by the Council's Development Control Committee at their meeting 30 July 2008, following a request from Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, that the decision be delayed until after a study by the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has been published.
Over 10,000 letters were sent to local residents of which 1,109 replied, 801 with objections and 308 in support. The 801 objections mainly concerned increase in noise, increase in air pollution, surface transport, socio-economics and regeneration. The 308 supporters mainly concerned the reduction of air pollution, an alternative London and 2012 Olympic gateway, additional jobs, and benefiting to the local economy. The residents campaign group HACAN East (formerly Fight the Flights) is opposed to expansion due to noise and pollution issues.
On 29 September 2009, Fight the Flights took Newham Council to court in order to challenge their decision to allow a 50% increase from 76,000 to 120,000 flights. On 20 January 2010, the challenge was dismissed, and a deadline of 14 days to appeal was set.
§Operations
Due to the airport's proximity to Central London, it has stringent rules imposed to limit the noise impact from aircraft operations. This, together with the physical dimensions of the 1,508 m (4,948 ft) long runway and the steep glideslope, limits the aircraft types that can use London City Airport.
Mid-range airliners seen at London City include the ATR 42 (both -300 and -500 variants), ATR 72, Airbus A318, Bombardier Q400, BAe 146/Avro RJ, Dornier 328, Embraer ERJ 135, Embraer 170, Embraer 190 and Fokker 50. On 30 January 2009, trials were completed successfully with the ATR 72-500, leading to its approval for use at the airport. The Embraer 190SR underwent trials from 28 March 2009, and thereafter gained approval. The Fokker F70, BAe Jetstream 41, Saab 340 and Saab 2000 also have approval for scheduled operations at the airport. A number of airlines including Swiss and Odyssey have ordered the Bombardier CS100 with the intention of operating it from London City once delivered and approved.
Corporate aircraft such as the Beechcraft Super King Air, Cessna CitationJet series, Hawker 400, Hawker 800, Piaggio Avanti and variants of the Dassault Falcon business jets are increasingly common. The airport is not available for use by single-engine aircraft or helicopters; recreational flights and single-pilot operations are also not permitted.
The size and layout of the airport and overall complexity caused by the lack of taxiways mean that the airport gets very busy during peak hours. The air traffic controllers have to deal with over 38 flights an hour on a runway requiring a lengthy backtrack for each aircraft needing to depart from runway 27 or land on runway 09.
Operations are restricted to 06:30 to 22:30 Monday to Friday, 06:30 to 13:00 on Saturdays and 12:30 to 22:30 on Sundays. These restrictions are related to noise.
The size of the airport, constrained by the water-filled Royal Albert and King George V docks to the north and south respectively, means that there are no covered maintenance facilities for aircraft.
§Terminal
London City Airport is small compared with the other five London international airports. Owing to its proximity to London's Docklands and financial district its main users are business travellers, but the number of leisure destinations served (like Palma de Mallorca or Chambéry) has increased in recent years. Inside the terminal there are 17 check-in desks plus self-service kiosks for Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Luxair and Swiss European Air Lines. There are fifteen gates at the Airport. London City Airport is also the closest private jet centre to central London.
London City Airport has free Wi-Fi for all its passengers. It is available throughout the terminal area and the Business Centre (located in City Aviation House).
London City is at its busiest during the winter months, when a number of airlines, most notably British Airways, Swiss and CityJet, fly to ski resort gateway destinations. Zürich, Geneva and Milan are among the destinations popular among winter sports enthusiasts.
§Airlines and destinations
§Statistics
§Passengers
Passenger numbers at London City Airport saw rapid growth between 2003 and 2008, doubling from around 1.5 million per year to over 3 million during that period. Totals declined during 2009 and 2010, but have since recovered and in 2013 nearly 3.4 million passengers passed through London City, a record total for the airport.
§Routes
BA CityFlyer operates a considerable number of the busiest routes to and from LCY.
§Ground transportation
§Docklands Light Railway
London City Airport is linked to London's new financial district at Canary Wharf, to the traditional financial district of the City of London, and to Stratford International station adjacent to the Olympic Park, via the Docklands Light Railway, that offers interchanges with London Underground, London Overground and Southeastern Trains. London City Airport DLR station adjoins the terminal building, with enclosed access to and from the elevated platforms.
§Road access
The airport is served by London Buses services 473 and 474 running to local East London destinations. However, the express shuttle buses, which formerly ran to various destinations, were withdrawn after the DLR line was built. The airport has both a short-term and a long-term car park, both within walking distance of the terminal and a taxi rank outside the terminal door.
§See also
- List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies
- Airports of London
§References
§External links
Media related to London City Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- London City Airport Consultative Committee
- HACAN East - Residents Campaign Group
- Aerial view of LCY and surroundings
Interesting Informations
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