London City Airport

LCY originated in 1981 with a plan by Reg Ward, Chief Executive of the newly formed London Dockyards Development Corporation, whose responsibility was the redevelopment of the area. Public opinion favored the airport, and planning permission was granted in early 1986. Construction began shortly after that, and the first aircraft landed on May 31st, 1987, while commercial services began on October 26th, 1987, with the airport officially opened in November by Queen Elizabeth II. Initial service was to Plymouth, Paris, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. Due to the runway’s length and glide path slope (for noise abatement purposes), only a limited amount of aircraft could service the airport. As such, in 1989, the airport submitted an application to lengthen the runway, allowing for more aircraft types. The extended runway opened on March 5th, 1992, while the glide path was reduced, allowing a larger range of aircraft to serve the airport. Passengers serviced at LCY slowly grew; by 1995, half a million people were served. At that point, the airport was sold to Irish businessman Dermot Desmond. By 2000 1.58 million passengers were served by 30,000 aircraft movements. In 2002 a corporate terminal opened along with additional aircraft stands, and the following year a ground holding point was established, allowing aircraft awaiting takeoff to hold while other aircraft landed. A branch of the Docklands Light Railway opened on December 2nd, 2005, providing fast links to the City of London and Canary Wharf. The following year, over 2.3 million passengers were served at LCY.
Moreover, the airport was purchased by a consortium comprised of AIG Financial Products and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). By 2008 GIP increased its stake to 75%, with the remaining belonging to Highstar Capital. On May 30th, 2008, four new gates to the east of the terminal, four additional parking stands, and an extended apron became operational. In September of 2009, the first transatlantic service commenced via British Airways to New York’s JFK Airport utilizing a specially configured Airbus A318 aircraft, the smallest airliner to operate a transatlantic flight since BOAC used the De Havilland Comet 4 on October 4th, 1958. Over seven million pounds were invested in LCY before the 2012 Summer Olympics, primarily to extend the Central Search area. However, despite being the closest airport to Olympic Park, the airport was only open for a few hours during the Games. There were security restrictions, while the low-capacity ramp and short runways excluded most long-range flights. In 2015 work began to extend the eastern apron along with a finger pier to the south of the apron to provide passenger access to aircraft using new parking stands.
Moreover, the terminal building and corporate terminal were extended while a new hangar and replacement fire station were built. LCY was sold in 2015 to a Canadian-led Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) consortium, OMERS, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and the Wren House Infrastructure Management of the Kuwait Investment Authority for two billion pounds. In 2020 the air traffic control tower was relocated to Swanwick, Hampshire, 80 miles away from LCY, with three cable links providing live video to the tower, thereby becoming the first airport controlled by a remote air traffic control tower.

The airport is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, six miles east of the city of London and three miles east of Canary Wharf. 

• Plans include constructing more aircraft stands, a new taxiway, and a multi-story car parking facility. Other improvements include the extension of the jet center and hangar facilities, the relocation of the fuel center, and the replacement of the terminal building. 
• There have been calls to shutter LCY and redevelop the area. 
• Only multi-engine, fixed-wing aircraft up to Airbus A318 size with special aircraft and aircrew certification to fly 5.5° approaches are allowed to serve LCY. 
• The FBO at LCY is London City Private Jet Centre.