London City Airport scoops ACI Europe digital transformation award

London City Airport recognised for pioneering Digital Air Traffic Control Tower project

European award notes the successful cross-industry partnership working with NATS, SAAB and CAA as integral

LCY receives the award at the 32nd Annual ACI Europe Congress in Rome

 

Fresh from being named by the Daily Telegraph as the best airport in the UK, last night, and our favourite, London City Airport was awarded the Digital Transformation Award at the 32nd ACI Europe Annual Congress in Rome.

The award was in recognition for the design, delivery, and operational success of the pioneering Digital Air Traffic Control Tower, which has been fully operational at London City since January 2021.

Unlike most airports, air traffic control is provided by a digital system, which sees 14 high-definition cameras and sensors mounted on a landside mast at the airport that provide a 360-degree view of the airfield. This is all relayed through super-fast fibre connections to a new control room in NATS’ air traffic control centre in Swanwick.

The judges, which included representatives from ACI Europe and SESAR, noted the swift deployment of the project and the close partnership working between the airport, NATS, SAAB, and the CAA, as well as engagement with important airline and local community stakeholders. The category was open to all European airports and London City received the award in Rome, the home of the 2021 winners Aeroporti di Roma, who were recognised for their brand-new digital Airport Operations System and Innovation Hub.

Commenting on the award, the airport’s Chief Operating Officer, Alison FitzGerald said:  “This project goes back to 2016 and I want to pay tribute to everyone involved in getting it approved by our regulators, as well as built, operationally ready and prepared for a busy summer ahead.

This recognition also speaks to the strength of the relationship we have built with NATS over the years, and I am hopeful that there is, even more, we can achieve together, helping us both to lead the way in making our industry safer, more sustainable and cutting edge.”

 

Looking ahead to the summer, the airport is set to connect to 36 destinations across the UK and Europe, including LCY only routes with San Sebastian via British Airways on July 8th and Deauville via l’Odyssey.

The airport is fully staffed for the summer getaway and will continue to offer the fast, convenient airport experience, which it is known for.

Air101: London City Airport has become the first major international airport in the world to be fully controlled by a remote digital air traffic control tower

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Air101: London City Airport surpasses 1 million passengers after busy May

London City Airport

London City Airport surpasses 1 million passengers after busy May

Photo London City Airport

Following two years of passenger numbers below the 1 million mark, London City today announced that it has surpassed that milestone and are confident of finishing the year close to three million.

 

This follows a very successful May where the airport welcomed 290,000 travellers, representing 65% of 2019 numbers for the same period. There were also very few cancellations in the month with airlines operating 98% of their schedules and delivering the best on-time performance of any London airport.

Amsterdam remained the most popular route but – ahead of the Platinum Jubilee weekend – a number of leisure routes proved popular, including Florence, Ibiza, Nice and Malaga. For the Jubilee weekend itself, the airport saw a spike of inbound bookings from Edinburgh, Luxembourg, Zurich, as well as from Amsterdam.

290,000 passengers fly from London City Airport in May, up from 256,000 the previous month

Leisure routes proving popular, particularly Florence, Ibiza and Nice

Nine new routes to commence in June, including Thessaloniki, Barcelona and Guernsey

Total passenger volumes for 2022 already 29% up 2021’s end of year total

Photo London City Airport

The number of summer leisure routes from London City is set to swell in June with nine new destinations being added to the departure board over the next three weeks. 

This includes a brand-new route to Thessaloniki in northern Greece and the return of direct services to Barcelona and Guernsey.

In addition, LCY summer staples of Mahon, Santorini, Split, Quimper and Skiathos will also commence from mid-June. For those seeking a domestic getaway, flights to Jersey will also restart. 

Commenting on the results and looking ahead to the summer, the Airport’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Sinclair, said: “We are not only pleased to see the continued strength of the recovery in passenger volumes, but also by the way in which our operation has performed over this period. 

Despite a big increase in flights and passengers along with our airline partners, we have continued to deliver our market-leading passenger proposition of speed, convenience and on-time performance – something which I know has been really welcomed by our customers. 

With flights to 36 domestic and European destinations, we are fully resourced and focused on ensuring we deliver the best experience for all our passengers over what promises to be a really special summer period.”

Photo London City Airport

Cool places to stay near London City Airport....

A four-star riverside stay by Canary Wharf

Situated on the east bank of the Thames, the four-star New Providence Wharf hotel is an expression of contemporary luxury opposite the world-famous O2 Arena, just 20 minutes from the ExCel Centre and London City Airport. 

Seasonal British cuisine, indulgent afternoon tea and Sunday roast is served in the riverside restaurant Scoff & Banter, providing stunning views of the Thames through the floor-to-ceiling windows.  

For a complete escape, the hotel’s tranquil East River Spa offers indulgent treatments with ESPA products as well as a sauna, steam room and 24-hour gym.

Crowne Plaza London Docklands hotel offers stylish accommodation a six-minute walk from the ExCeL London exhibition centre. London City Airport is a 10-minute cab ride from the hotel. The O2 arena is 15 minutes away by the Emirates Air Line cable car over the Thames, and Royal Victoria DLR station is only five minutes walk away. From there, trains can whisk you to Canary Wharf in 15 minutes or to Bank station in The City in 25 minutes.

Crowne Plaza London Docklands

A modern recently built Holiday Inn Express London -ExCeL hotel is conveniently located in the heart of East London with excellent transport links to Canary Wharf and London attractions suited for Business or Leisure stays. This stunning property boasts 204 bedrooms, three meeting rooms. Every guest staying will have a complimentary buffet breakfast included in their stay, restaurant offers a 24-hour menu and Alfresco dining on the terrace. The hotel has onsite car/van parking facilities with no height restrictions with up to 60 spaces, we recommend registration with a reception to avoid penalties. The hotel is just a stone’s throw away from iconic venue ExCeL centre, within walking distance to London City Airport or under 5 minutes cab drive, 200 metres walking distance is the Docklands Light Railway - Royal Albert has direct links to Canary Wharf, London City and direct connections to Canning Town underground station and is perfectly located in the heart of all that East London has to offer.

Holiday Inn Express London - ExCeL

More on London City.....

 

Air101: Best airport in Britain has record month.....

Air101: London City Airport....adapting to the digital tower......

London City spreads jubilee joy for passengers, staff and the local community

London City Airport launches new commemorative logo for the Jubilee

 

Sponsors local community celebrations in Newham and Barking & Dagenham

LCY set to be busy as passengers fly into London for the Jubilee weekend from across the UK and Europe

As preparations gear up for the global celebration of the 70th year of Queen Elizabeth II’s historic reign, London City Airport today announced how it plans to mark the occasion.

The central London hub, which has been a favourite of the Queen and the Royal family since it opened in 1987, with Prince Philip once claiming to be able to get from Buckingham Palace to the terminal in 19 minutes, has today launched a new Jubilee logo as well as announcing how it will involve passengers, staff and the local community.

The new logo, with the Queen’s distinctive profile prominent, will be used from today for a week on all airport communications and social media channels.

For passengers planning a Jubilee jaunt away from London, a new parking promotion is now live, which could save 70 passengers, £70 by using the promo code “70JUBILEE” on early-booker parking products, which can be booked here.  

Furthermore, throughout the month of June, East London’s own Truman’s Brewery will be serving a special commemorative cocktail, called ‘Royal Dubonnet Gin Cocktail' (Dubonnet, 58Gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice) from their location by Gate 2, to anyone who fancies a pre-flight toast to Her Majesty. Aelia Duty-Free will also be offering a range of special products, including Fortnum & Mason’s biscuits and loose-leaf tea.

With celebrations planned around the country over next weekend, London City is sponsoring two local community events. In Newham, the airport is supporting the Royal British Legion with its lighting of a special Jubilee Beacon, as well as a party at the iconic Brick Lane Music Hall, featuring food, drink and live music for over 300 people.

Across in neighbouring Barking & Dagenham, the airport is one of the sponsors of the Council’s extensive programme of celebrations, including the Youth Parade, which will be held on Sunday, June 5th and is set to welcome over 2,000 people.

Commenting on the Jubilee, the airport’s CEO Robert Sinclair said:” This is a unique and special moment, not only for the UK and Commonwealth but for the entire world. Whether you are working at the airport, travelling through it, or living close by, we want everyone to feel part of the Jubilee and for it to be a weekend that lives long in the memory – which I believe will be a fitting tribute to Her Majesty.”

The Jubilee weekend at the airport - which last week welcomed a post-pandemic record of 67,000 passengers - looks set to be busy, with inbound visitors from across its domestic network and international destinations, such as Amsterdam, Milan, Frankfurt and Zurich.

Furthermore, as part of the RAF’s London flyover, featuring 70 aircraft this coming Thursday, the airport will temporarily halt operations for 20 minutes from 11.48am so everyone can enjoy the special aerial tribute. The same will happen for a subsequent flyover on Sunday 5th June between 16.57 and 17.07pm.

 

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Best airport in Britain has record month.....

Passenger numbers in April were up 35% compared to March, continuing the airport’s recovery since travel restrictions were eased by the UK Government.

256,000 travellers used London’s most central airport, representing approximately 61% of 2019 numbers for the same period.

Amsterdam, with 14 daily KLM Cityhopper and British Airways rotations, was again the busiest route, followed by Edinburgh and Zurich. Throughout April and continuing in the first week of May; SWISS, KLM and British Airways services from London City have benefited from higher load factors and a strong operational performance with only a low level of cancellations.

• 256,000 passengers fly from London City Airport in April
• Amsterdam the busiest route
• Summer sun routes to Faro and Mykonos returning in May
• London City ranked as Britain’s best airport by The Telegraph

Commenting on the results the Airport’s Chief Commercial Officer, Richard Hill, said: “The Easter holidays can see our volumes level off for a few weeks, but not in 2022 with more and more passengers using the airport for a well-earned break.

But the busiest month since the start of the pandemic was not driven by leisure alone, we have continued to see high load factors on core business routes like Edinburgh, Zurich, Frankfurt and Amsterdam and our recovery continues to be powered by an equal split in business and leisure passengers.

While we have largely avoided the queuing issues experienced at other airports, we are not resting on our laurels and everyone at London City is gearing up for a bumper summer whilst continuing to provide our passengers with a reliable schedule and the quickest airport experience in London.”

This news follows London City is ranked as Britain’s best airport by The Telegraph. The UK broadsheet evaluated criteria like on-time performance, journey time from the city centre and average delays.

Commenting on the ranking, Hill added: “We’ve worked hard to preserve and improve our passenger proposition, so to be ranked by The Telegraph as Britain’s best airport is a major honour and recognition of the hard work our staff and partners put in day in, day out.”

May looks set to continue the upward turn in passengers, with more sun destinations like Faro (5-weekly), Bergerac (6-weekly) and Mykonos (7-weekly) being added to the departure board. Furthermore, following the news that British travellers will be able to use the eGates at the Portuguese border, Faro is likely to be even more popular than anticipated.

In addition, Loganair will increase to twice daily on its new Isle of Man service and, for the first time in the airport’s history, will offer a connection from the UK capital to Shetland.

 

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London City Airport....adapting to the digital tower......

Photo NATS

It’s now more than a year since London City Airport successfully transitioned to a digital tower and began controlling flights from a brand-new remote-control centre, based in Swanwick.

Now, instead of sitting in a physical tower based at London City Airport, a dedicated team of controllers manage the runway through sixteen high-definition cameras and sensors mounted on a mast, capturing a 360-degree view of the City Airport airfield, writes Elise Smith, from NATS. 

Photo NATS

We recently spoke to Lawrie McCurrach, Watch Manager, London City Airport, about how he has found the past year in his new digital environment.

How has the last year in the digital tower been for you?

It’s been a busy year, but it’s been great bedding into the new location. Throughout the whole transition, Covid has been an ongoing thing, so it’s all been completely different to everything we initially planned and trained for. In the last two/or three weeks, things have started to go back to what you would perhaps describe as normal and that has been really nice.

We had our first visit from the airport customer recently as some employees from airside operations and the fire service came to have a look around. The tower is a fantastic piece of kit, so I am always thrilled when I get to show people around it for the first time.

How are you adapting to the rising traffic numbers?

It’s been a fairly gradual increase so we’ve been quite lucky in that respect as we’ve not had any big jumps in traffic which could have made things more challenging.

The interesting thing about moving to the digital tower when we did is that the airport now has its full-length taxiway so there is no more backtracking up the runway. There are also extra stands for the aircraft to park in, so we basically no longer control the same airport that we did before when we were based in the physical tower.

What has been easier than you expected in the Digital Tower?

In some ways, everything has been easier than we expected. Really simple stuff like eye fatigue from watching the screens was something that we and the NATS Human Performance team were concerned by as it can be a lot of time spent staring at fairly large screens, but it just isn’t a problem that’s developed, and we’ve had no issues there.

We were also wondering if having a 360-degree view compressed into 225 degrees would be difficult to adapt to, but it hasn’t been a problem and actually makes our lives a lot easier, making sure the whole airfield is always within our eyeline.

Have there been any funny moments or surprises that you didn’t expect to happen?

One of the things about leaving the physical London City tower is that we no longer have to deal with sticky rain as a result of the golden syrup factory next to the airport. When the factory was refining sugar, the steam coming out of the chimneys also has sugar in it, meaning when it rains it’s all sticky and the dust would stick to your car. I don’t miss that.

The other funny thing is that when it’s raining at London City, you get all wrapped up and get your jacket on because it’s so immersive and you actually feel cold! You forget you’re not at the airport and you’re in sunny Swanwick, so we’ve left the tower room sometimes and gotten some funny looks.

Adapting to the Digital Tower - NATS Blog

A four-star riverside stay by Canary Wharf

Situated on the east bank of the Thames, the four-star New Providence Wharf hotel is an expression of contemporary luxury opposite the world-famous O2 Arena, just 20 minutes from the ExCel Centre and London City Airport. 

Seasonal British cuisine, indulgent afternoon tea and Sunday roast is served in the riverside restaurant Scoff & Banter, providing stunning views of the Thames through the floor-to-ceiling windows.  

For a complete escape, the hotel’s tranquil East River Spa offers indulgent treatments with ESPA products as well as a sauna, steam room and 24-hour gym.

A different option..... 

Filled with music, love, life, and those oh-so-modern hotel amenities you'll love, the rooms and suites at Hard Rock Hotel London make for an out-of-this-world experience.  From superior family rooms to classic single, double, and twin rooms, our stylish hotel rooms provide an unrivalled British setting so that you can make the most of the hotel's exceptional location in the heart of central London. 

Crowne Plaza London Docklands hotel offers stylish accommodation a six-minute walk from the ExCeL London exhibition centre. London City Airport is a 10-minute cab ride from the hotel. The O2 arena is 15 minutes away by the Emirates Air Line cable car over the Thames, and Royal Victoria DLR station is only five minutes walk away. From there, trains can whisk you to Canary Wharf in 15 minutes or to Bank station in The City in 25 minutes.

Crowne Plaza London Docklands

A modern recently built Holiday Inn Express London -ExCeL hotel is conveniently located in the heart of East London with excellent transport links to Canary Wharf and London attractions suited for Business or Leisure stays. This stunning property boasts 204 bedrooms, three meeting rooms. Every guest staying will have complimentary buffet breakfast included in their stay, restaurant offers a 24-hour menu and Alfresco dining on the terrace. The hotel has onsite car/van parking facilities with no height restrictions with up to 60 spaces, we recommend registration with a reception to avoid penalties. The hotel is just a stone’s throw away from iconic venue ExCeL centre, within walking distance to London City Airport or under 5 minutes cab drive, 200 metres walking distance is the Docklands Light Railway - Royal Albert has direct links to Canary Wharf, London City and direct connections to Canning Town underground station and is perfectly located in the heart of all that East London has to offer.

Holiday Inn Express London - ExCeL

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London City Airport LCY sees its fourth consecutive busiest week, up 40% on February with the airport on track to have its best month since the start of the pandemic.

British Airways CityFlyer starts new routes from London City Airport (LCY) to Milan Malpensa and Luxembourg on the 27th of March, plus connections to Rotterdam and Nice also resume. This means that 20 of the 25 routes that BA CityFlyer operated in 2019 have now returned to the schedule.

ITA will also be starting flights from LCY to Milan Linate on the 28th of March.

The return of these core routes comes as the airport sees momentum in passenger growth with its fourth consecutive busiest week since the start of the pandemic. Business traffic is also making a return since the easing of travel restrictions for passengers arriving into the UK, with 2019 business traffic share reached, representing 46% of passenger journeys. In particular, core business routes Edinburgh, Zurich, Amsterdam and Dublin are all seeing strong growth.

The latest figures indicate that London City Airport is on track to have its best month since the pandemic began, up 40% on February’s figures.

The summer outlook is also looking strong with LCY to connect to 36 destinations this summer, reaching nearly 80% of 2019 destinations.

London City Airport’s, Head of Aviation, Anne Doyere said:  “We are delighted to see key routes and strong passenger growth returning to LCY. The demand from customers has given us real confidence heading into the summer this year. It’s also testament to the agility of our airlines providing convenient flight times and competitive pricing that benefit our customers.”

Commenting on the removal of all travel restrictions, Doyere added:  “The UK Government’s removal of all remaining travel restrictions, including the complicated Passenger Locator Form and all testing requirements, is hugely welcome news for our passengers and will make travel easier again. This will help businesses get moving, boosting consumer confidence in travel ahead of Easter & summer, where LCY will be connecting to 36 destinations across Europe & the UK.”

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Over £35,000 awarded to local East London groups from London City Airport Community Fund

London City Airport Community Fund awards £35k to local groups to support East London’s recovery

 

London City Airport has named the successful applicants to its latest round of 2022 grants from the airport’s £75,000 Community Fund.

 

In total, £35,683 of funding has been awarded to 13 local groups and community organisations, covering seven East London boroughs, including Newham, Hackney, Lewisham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Barking & Dagenham. Each successful applicant will receive grants of up to £3,000 to enable important and positive change in their local communities.

Successful grantees that have secured funding in this latest round include Breaking Barriers, who are working with refugees across East London boroughs, supporting them back into employment through training and development. Also securing funding was Bags of Taste, who are based in Hackney and work with people from marginalised communities to enable them to purchase and cook healthy meals on a budget.

Commenting on the award, Matt Powell, CEO of Breaking Barriers CEO said:  "At Breaking Barriers we're so grateful to London City Airport’s Community Fund for awarding us this grant. This is an incredibly challenging time for refugee communities. Thanks to this grant, we will be able to reimburse the travel expenses for our clients travelling to access our support in person this year. Thank you so much from the whole Breaking Barriers community."

Each organisation has been awarded a grant of up to £3,000 in line with the Community Fund’s aims to build stronger, safer and healthier communities - creating pathways to employment, more sustainable communities and raising the aspirations of East Londoners.

Since launching in 2019, London City Airport’s Community Fund is delighted to have awarded Grants totalling more than £270k to 85+ local charities and not-for-profit organisations. The Community Fund has also commissioned a video that highlights the great work the successful awardees have been able to achieve with the funding, as well as promoting it more widely to encourage more local organisations to apply.

London City Airport hosts recruitment drive and local business recovery events

The airport welcomed almost 150 attendees to its first post-pandemic jobs fair. 

Nearly 1 in 3 attendees applied for live vacancies.

 

London City Airport hosted two successful events this past week to support its recruitment drive and recovery of local businesses, following the pandemic.

Over the weekend, the airport welcomed almost 150 guests to its first jobs fair since the pandemic began, to showcase current employment opportunities, with nearly 1 in 3 attendees applying for live vacancies. Other airport partners, such as Swissport, British Airways CityFlyer, Pret A Manger and Truman’s also promoted job vacancies at the event.

London City Airport’s Chief People Officer, Michael Spiers, said: “We were delighted to host this series of events and work closely with our local community, as we start to recover. With Covid-19 restrictions relaxed, the airport is now entering an exciting phase and our recruitment drive is testament to our - and our airport partners’ – confidence in renewed growth.”

Two days before that, LCY worked in partnership with UMi and Newham Council to run the Royal Docks Business Recovery event – a free session for local businesses that covered procurement advice, tips on how to run a business during turbulent times and supply chain opportunities in the public sector.

UK's Aviation Minister visits London City Airport for opening of electric car charging stations

Aviation Minister Welcomes London City’s Electric Car Charging Commitment

Three rapid and four fast chargers can now be used by passengers, black cabs and airport staff

New investment, installed by UK Power Networks Services and supported by BP Pulse, part of the airport’s drive to increase the number of sustainable journeys to and from London City

Builds on 2021’s partnership with Tusker to encourage staff to purchase electric vehicles

London City Airport has opened its first electric car charging stations.

London City Airport, which has the best record in the UK for sustainable journeys to and from an airport, is initially offering seven new charging stations for use by its passengers, staff and black cab community.

The airport wants to play its part in encouraging the uptake of electric car journeys across London and anticipates adding more stations as passenger figures rebound, as more people switch to electric cars.

The initial instalment will include three 50kW rapid and four 22kW fast charging points, of which one 50kW charger will be specially designated for use by the local black cab community. The remaining rapid and fast chargers will be located in the airport’s car parks and will be available to passengers, staff and minicabs.

The installation was undertaken by UK Power Networks Services, who manage the private electricity network of London City Airport.

The service will be provided by BP Pulse and a rapid charge for passengers will cost 30p per kWh, with payment possible either by credit card or via the BP Pulse app.

To promote sustainable journeys and make electric cars more affordable, a salary sacrifice finance scheme was offered to all London City Airport staff late last year, in partnership with Tusker. This will continue to be offered to new starters as the airport plans for a recruitment drive throughout 2022.

MSC and Lufthansa interested in buying major stake in Italian airline ITA as airline plans new route to London City.

The Italian government is already trying to sell off the newly formed carrier ITA Airways from the ashes of Alitalia. Major cruise company MSC Group has confirmed an interest in taking a majority stake in the new carrier. 

MSC plans to create a partnership with the German airline Lufthansa and the Italian government to take the carrier to the next level. According to travel newspaper TTG, all parties now start a 90-day period of exclusivity when the Italian authorities will examine their proposal.  

MSC added: "MSC Group’s interest derives from the possibility of activating positive synergies for both companies in the cargo and passenger sectors where the MSC Group is a global leader."

"ITA Airways is satisfied that the work carried out in recent months to offer the best prospects to the company is starting to have the expected results, providing for a company recognised as viable for partners of international reputation both in passenger and cargo transport. The Board of Directors will examine the details of the Expression of Interest in an upcoming meeting."

ITA Airways is a company totally owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance which started in November 2020. The airline has a fleet of some 50+ aircraft, including 7 wide-bodies and 45 narrow-bodies aircraft. Later in 2022, the fleet will rise to 78 aircraft, including 13 wide-bodies and 65 narrow-bodies. From 2022, new-generation aircraft will gradually join the fleet replacing old technology aircraft. 

In partnership with German Airways, ITA will start flights from Milan Linate to a number of new destinations such as London City, Luxembourg and Geneva from 28th March 2022.  This agreement will see the German carrier's Embraer E190 operate the flights initially with ITA's own aircraft taking over the sectors at a later date.  The livery of the two wet-leased Embraer E190 will be adorned with the titles "Operated by ITA Airways" and both aircraft will feature the Superior and Economy service classes configuration. 

The Milan Linate - London City route with three flights a day from Mondays to Fridays, one flight on Saturdays and two flights on Sundays. Flights will be departing from Linate at 07:00 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., and from London City at 08:25 a.m., 01:45 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. for a total of 36 round-trip flights a week.

Maren Wolters, Managing Director of German Airways: "We are delighted that ITA is working with us. We can benefit from the excellent reputation that we have hard-earned: We are known as a very reliable service provider with great know-how in the industry. With ITA, another major European airline joins our customer base, which already includes renowned European airlines."

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London City Airport predicts strong passenger recovery in 2022

Central London airport expects meaningful growth in 2022 as British Airways announces significant summer schedule

More than three-quarters of 2019 routes to be on the London City departure board in 2022

New routes include Thessaloniki, Barcelona and the return of 2019 top performer Milan

714,000 passengers used London City in 2021, down 21% on 2020

London City Airport expects pent up passenger demand to fuel a surge in growth in 2022, with the introduction of new routes and the return of top-selling destinations, resulting in more than three quarters of 2019 routes operating at LCY this year.

The prediction follows the announcement of a busy summer schedule for British Airways, the airport’s biggest customer, and the easing of COVID restrictions, which are helping to fuel a return to business and leisure travel.

 Flights to Milan, one of the airport’s top performing routes, and which alone carried 275,000 passengers from the centre of London to the centre of Milan in 2019, will be reinstated this year.

 

Barcelona will return to the London City network for the first time in almost a decade, while new routes such as Thessaloniki join established summer favourites like Split, Mykonos and Faro.

The upturn in confidence at the airport reflects the easing of travel restrictions and the proactive role LCY has played to work with and support its airline partners as the industry looks to bounce back from the worst of the pandemic.

 

The impact of COVID-19 can be seen in the airport’s 2021 results. 714,000 passengers used London City, down 21% on 2020 and 86% on 2019. However, in the first six months of the year, when extensive global travel restrictions were in place, the airport handled only 75,184 passengers. In the last six months, as restrictions were eased, 638,785 passengers used the airport and very strong month on month growth was achieved.

 

There were other positive trends for the airport in 2021, with business travel back strongly on all domestic routes, with Edinburgh the best performer. Internationally, Amsterdam was the airport’s strongest route, with KLM growing to four rotations per day in the autumn, with high passenger load factors. Other key business routes have included Zurich and Geneva, operated by SWISS and Frankfurt, operated by Lufthansa.

 

More new flights from London City Airport........expansion to route network for BA CityFlyer

Whilst British Airways may be consolidating its North American route offering at the moment, the carrier is expanding services offered from London City Airport to key European markets. 

The British Airways subsidiary  BA CityFlyer is launching four new routes across Europe as well as reinstating services to the Channel Islands. 

New routes include Luxembourg and Milan starting from 27 March and will operate daily. In June the carrier will start a weekly rotation to Thessaloniki every Saturday and from 19th June a service to Barcelona will start operating six days a week. 

Routes to Jersey and Guernsey are also returning following the launch in Summer 2021.  Flights will operate on Monday and Friday from 20 June to 2 September.  

Tom Stoddart, Managing Director of BA CityFlyer, which will operate the new services, said: “As customers start to plan their next summer getaway, we wanted to offer new routes to some of the most popular European destinations.  Conveniently accessible from London City airport, they are a great addition to our extensive network.”

The flights are all scheduled to be operated by the airline's E190 aircraft, a narrow-body, twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by the Brazilian aerospace company, Embraer. BA CityFlyer operates these aircraft to the bulk of its destinations from London City Airport. 

The aircraft is a low wing design with engines mounted below the wings which are fitted with winglets, which reduces the drag and provides increased lift and improved efficiency. The high-performance, high-efficiency engines are very quiet and the aircraft exceeds the noise and emission-related requirements established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Number in fleet 24
Passenger capacity98 (1 or 2 class)

Length                 38.7m (126 feet 1 inch)

Wingspan         28.7m (94 feet 3 inches)

Engines                 2× General Electric CF34-10E turbofans

Range                 3,334km (2,072 miles)

Seating Plan

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London City Airport boss issues statement on changes to England's travel traffic light system.

Reacting to the UK Government's review of international travel rules, Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive of London City Airport, said:

"We welcome the Government’s decision to ease international travel restrictions next month. The replacement of the traffic light system with a simpler and more-risk based approach is a confidence boost for London City Airport and our airlines heading into the autumn.”

 

We are pleased the Government has decided to exempt fully vaccinated travellers from the complex and costly testing requirements, and the abolition of pre-departure tests, and the ability to use quicker and cheaper lateral flow tests on arrival, will encourage more international visitors and business travellers to fly inbound into the UK.

 

However, traffic remains well below pre-pandemic levels and the aviation industry in the UK has fallen behind other countries in Europe and around the world, which is why we need a stable, consistent and globally harmonized regime, alongside a roadmap for the return of restriction-free international travel for all in the months ahead.

 

Geneva comes back to the growing destination list from London City Airport .............

With Switzerland now on the UK Green List, and Swiss Air Lines back on the ever-increasing network from London City Airport.  So you can roam freely once again. And where better than the bejewelled city of Geneva. SWISS flights are operated by the comfortable and popular Airbus A220 aircraft with return fares coming out around £110. 

The old town is, without doubt, Geneva’s greatest gem. A cultured cluster of cobbled streets, city squares, big-name boutiques, museums, and churches. A place where getting lost is a lucky mishap, and the absence of a map just makes things more exciting.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays since 1970, the Plaine de Plainpalais teems with stalls and people. This is one of Switzerland’s largest flea markets. Bargain hunters and collectors graze on organic fare as they search bric-à-brac, books, clothes, jewellery, antiques and decorative items. Spectators and collectors flock to discover the most unbelievable objects, sometimes even vintage.

It could be said that Geneva is the gastronomic heart of Switzerland, it has over 1,000 restaurants which cater for almost every sort of world cuisine you can think of.  These eating places vary from wooden huts to posh Michelin starred restaurants, so something for all pockets.