London City Airport Celebrates 30th Anniversary, Looks to Future Expansion

(Source: Breaking Travel News)

On October 26th, 1987, a flight carrying around 40 passengers touched down from Plymouth in east London, on the peninsula between Royal Albert Dock and King George V Dock.

It was the first commercial flight to land at London City Airport.

The first arrival, operated by Brymon Airways, was followed by a Eurocity Express service from Brussels, both using De Havilland Dash 7 aircraft.

At the time, London City Airport was the first completely new airport to be built in the UK for 40 years, taking just 18 months to construct at a cost of £34 million.

It has subsequently increased its route map to circa 50 destinations today, across 12 airlines, serving a combined total of over 55.5 million passengers since 1987 – each benefitting from the quick and convenient gateway on the doorstep of the UK capital city.

To coincide with the milestone, the airport has released updated CGIs by architects Pascall + Watson, which are illustrative of what the airport will look like after it undergoes the £400 million City Airport Development Programme, due for completion in 2021.

The privately-funded investment includes plans for seven new aircraft stands, a parallel taxiway to maximise runway capacity, and a world-class terminal extension to accommodate increasing passengers.

The improvements will enable two million more passengers per year to use the airport by 2025 and add 30,000 additional flights per year, creating over 2,000 jobs and generating an additional £750 million per year for the UK economy.

The airport is also constructing the UK’s first digital air traffic control tower, operational in 2019.

Declan Collier, chief executive, London City Airport, said: “Over the past 30 years, London City Airport has become an intrinsic part of London’s transport system; growing responsibly to a record-breaking 4.6 million annual passengers in 2016, creating local employment, and connecting business and leisure travellers with the UK, Europe and beyond.

“As we celebrate this anniversary, we look to a bright future ahead and the world-class transformation which is soon to commence.”

The artist’s impressions include several exterior views of an expanded airport, including the passenger terminal which will increase in size by around 40,000m².

Enabling works are under way, with construction beginning early in 2018, with the delivery partner Bechtel.