The development will comprise seven aircraft parking stands, an extended terminal building, a new eastern passenger pier and associated works on a platform over the King George V Dock.
It is proposed to provide a new passenger forecourt in front of the terminal building together with a new office building (to replace City Aviation House) and a hotel. Passenger and staff car parking will re-organised.
The new aircraft parking stands are proposed to the east of existing aircraft parking stands 21-24. As part of the upgrade works there will be an extension to the aircraft taxiway running along the eastern length of the runway.
A landside access pontoon for use by emergency services will also be provided at the eastern end of the seven new stands.
The proposals are not intended to alter how the airport operates.
The proposals will:
LCY – the business traveller’s airport
In 2011 London City Airport handled 70,000 scheduled aircraft movements and 3 million passengers. By 2021 this is expected to increase to just over 100,000 scheduled aircraft movements and 6 million passengers.
The increase stems from anticipated demand for air travel particularly by the business community which London City Airport is well placed to capture because of its location three miles from Canary Wharf, seven miles from the City of London and 10 miles from Westminster.
London City Airport has the highest proportion of business travellers of any major UK airport, which means its business is focussed around weekday activity in the morning and evening busy period, when business travellers need to fly.
As the airport becomes busier it will be more challenging to accommodate passengers and aircraft movements during the concentrated morning and evening peaks.
LCY – the 20/10 proposition
LCY has a unique 20/10 passenger proposition – the promise of a 20 minute check-in, door to gate and a 10 minute arrival, tarmac to train. To airline customers, it delivers a 30 minute aircraft turnaround time.
As flight movements and passenger numbers increase, without infrastructure improvements the airport’s ability to guarantee its proposition is eroded.
LCY – accommodating ‘next generation’ aircraft
The next generation of aircraft, likely to begin using the airport in 2016, are more fuel-efficient and quieter but also larger. They present specific challenges to the airport, both in terms of the increased passenger numbers they will bring and in terms of parking them and manoeuvring them around the runway.
They are not able to use the taxi lane, or park, at the western end of the airfield and are required to back track on the runway on both arrival and departure. This has the effect of capping the rate at which aircraft can take-off or land and limiting the airport’s capacity for growth.
Simply put, without the enhanced infrastructure proposed, LCY would never reach its permitted 120,000 movements and would not be able to fulfil its potential as an international gateway to Newham, East London and the financial centres of Canary Wharf and the City.
When the Airport prepared its Additional Movements scheme planning application for up to 120,000 noise factored movements in 2007 (subsequently approved in 2009), it was not considered necessary to provide additional infrastructure to meet the forecast number of aircraft movements.
The 2007 application predicted the attainment of 120,000 noise factored movements by 2010 with 3.9 million passengers. However, the changes described above – larger aircraft and greater passenger numbers - have resulted in a significant change to the Airport’s medium to long term requirements.
By 2021, over 100,000 noise factored movements are expected, carrying in the order of 6 million passengers. To be ready to meet this challenge, LCY needs to begin preparing its facilities now.
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