London City Airport

Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA · EN · 04/10/2026

London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks, about 6 mi east of the City of London and 3 mi east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres of London's financial industry, which is a major user of the airport. The airport was developed by the engineering company Mowlem between 1986 and 1987. The airport is owned and operated by London City Airport Limited.

London City Airport has a single 1508 m runway, and a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P728) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers; this licence also allows training flights, but only for the purpose of training pilots to operate at this specific airport. Only multi-engine, fixed-wing aircraft up to Embraer E195-E2, Airbus A220 and A318 size, with special aircrew and aircraft-certification to fly 5.5° approaches, strict noise limitations and further restrictions are allowed to conduct operations at London City Airport. the airport is about 60 hectare in size.

London City had 5.1 and 3.57 million passenger movements in 2019 and 2024, respectively. It is the fifth-busiest airport by passengers and aircraft movements serving the London area—after Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton—and was the 15th-busiest in the UK in 2025.

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 chairman of John Mowlem & Co, Philip Beck, and the idea of an airport for Docklands was born. By November of that year Mowlem and Bill Bryce of Brymon Airways had submitted an outline proposal to the LDDC for a Docklands STOLport city centre gateway.

On 27 June 1982, Brymon's Captain Harry Gee landed a de Havilland Canada Dash 7 turboprop 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 an 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. The airport site had an initial footprint of 92 acre in area.

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.

Opening and runway extension

The first commercial services began operating from the airport on 26 October 1987. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened London City Airport in November of the same year.

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 1080 m 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 50-seat de Havilland Canada Dash 7 and 19-seat Dornier 228 turboprops. 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, opening on 5 March 1992. At the same time the glide path was reduced to 5.5°, still steep for a European airport (the slope of an airport glide path is normally 3.0°), but sufficient to allow a larger range of aircraft, including the British Aerospace 146 and Airbus A318, to serve the airport.

By 1995, passenger numbers reached 500,000 and Mowlem sold the airport to Irish businessman Dermot Desmond. Five years later passenger numbers had climbed to 1.58million, 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 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.

British Airways commenced the first scheduled transatlantic flights from the airport in September 2009, with a twice a day service to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport via Shannon using a specially configured Airbus A318 aircraft. The A318 is the smallest airliner to operate transatlantic services 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 United Nations 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 2012 Summer Olympics in London, it was reported that over £7million (in 2011) was invested in the terminal to extend the Central Search area and adding other improvements. During the Games, however, the airport was only open for a few hours with strict restrictions (for security), and the small apron and short runway excluded most long-range arrivals. However, it was the closest airport to Olympic Park, with normal scheduled travel by road of 15minutes.

2010s expansion

In early 2013, work was expected to start on a £15million 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. In response to the UK government white paper The Future of Air Transport, the airport operators produced a master plan outlining their vision for growth up to 2030. The plan was subject to public consultation during spring 2006, and was republished incorporating comments from this consultation. The master plan shows a phased expansion of the airport, giving the capability of handling 8million 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 on 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 local residents were consulted by Newham Council over the plan, 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 benefits to the local economy. The residents campaign group HACAN East (formerly Fight the Flights) was 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. The plan was given the go-ahead in February 2015. However this was overturned by Boris Johnson in March 2015. On 27 July 2016, London City Airport was given approval by authorities to implement the £344million expansion plan.

Latest developments

In October 2015, Global Infrastructure Partners which owned 75% of the facility, put it up for sale, with the agreement of Oaktree Capital Management which held the remaining 25%. A sale to a Canadian-led consortium of Alberta Investment Management Corporation, OMERS, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Wren House Infrastructure Management of the Kuwait Investment Authority for £2 billion was confirmed in February 2016, taking a 25% stake each. The sale was completed on 10 March 2016.

In September 2016, British Airways announced the termination of one of its two daily long-haul all-business class Airbus A318 services from the airport to New York City, citing economic reasons.

Green Party of England and Wales candidate for the 2016 London mayoral election and member of the London Assembly Siân Berry has been vocal in calling for the closure of London City Airport and subsequent redevelopment of the area it occupies. Caroline Russell, the leader of the Green Party on the London Assembly and Scott Ainslie, former Green MEP for London and councillor on Lambeth Council have both called for its closure.

In March 2020, British Airways suspended its daily service to New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, the airline confirmed the service would not return.

In November 2020, the new parallel taxiway and eight additional aircraft parking stands were declared operational. These were delivered as part of the first phase of the City Airport Development Programme (CADP). Both the new stands and the parallel taxiway were constructed on a concrete deck mounted on piles driven in to the bed of the King George V Dock.

In January 2021, after a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, London City became the first major airport controlled by a remote air traffic control tower. The airport had previously decided to relocate the control tower to a site 80 miles away at Swanwick, Hampshire, utilising three cable links providing live video to air traffic controllers.

In July 2023, the revised operating distances for the runway became operational following the introduction of Engineered Material Arresting Systems (EMAS) in the Runway Safety Areas at each end of the runway.

Plans were approved to increase the passenger cap at the airport from 6.5million to 9million passengers, with the number of morning flights increasing between 06:00 and 09:00.

In June 2025, Australian company Macquarie Asset Management acquired a 25% stake in the airport from Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan. In October 2025, Macquarie took an additional 50% stake in the airport from Alberta Investment Management Corporation and OMERS.

Operations

Source and attribution

Adapted from “London City Airport” by English Wikipedia contributors. Main paragraphs and sections are retained; tables, reference markers and technical markup are omitted. This is an encyclopedic adaptation, not a personal review. Original revision and contributor history ↗. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗. Check current visitor access, tickets and transport with the relevant operator.