Image courtesy London City Airport
 
The application follows an extensive 10-week local consultation carried out by the airport and includes:

• Increasing the current planning cap on the number of passengers from 6.5 million to nine million passengers per annum by 2031  
• An extension to the operating hours on Saturday from the current closing time of 12.30pm to 6.30 pm, with an additional hour in Summer for arriving flights only, up to a maximum of 12
• Allowing three additional flights in the first half hour of operations on Mondays to Saturdays (6.30am-6.59am) with a new limit of nine flights instead of the current limit of six flights
• A requirement that all aircraft operating in the newly extended hours on Saturday or additional flights in the first 30 minutes must be cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft, operating to the highest noise and emissions standards

What will not change as part of the application:

• The airport is not seeking any increase to the annual number of permitted flights, which will remain at 111,000
• No change to the existing eight-hour nightly curfew  
• No additional infrastructure  
• Sunday operations will be unchanged, commencing from 12.30pm until 10.00pm
• No change to the restrictions in the last 30 minutes of operations which will remain capped at 400 per annum for late departing or arriving aircraft

In a first for a UK airport, London City will mandate that only cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft will be allowed to operate in any newly extended hours on a Saturday, and for any new flights in the first half hour of the day.  

 
This will result in airlines replacing their older fleets with new generation aircraft in order to benefit from any increased flexibility, which in turn will accelerate the benefits of quieter aircraft for local residents throughout the week as the airport becomes home to one of the youngest, most modern, aircraft fleets in the country.  
 
The proposals have been developed in close consultation with the airport’s major airlines who support the sustainability ambitions in the plans.
 
With East London, and Newham in particular, facing up to the stark challenges of the cost-of-living crisis, the airport will, as part of the plans, offer a new Community Fund of £3.8 million over ten years to be distributed directly to local good causes via the established Trust. Currently, the airport’s Community Fund awards £75,000 per year. The growth in passenger numbers to nine million annually and increased flexibility will also create almost 2,200 additional jobs across London, with 1,340 being created at the airport itself.  
 
The plans include further enhancements to the airport’s sound insulation scheme, which is already one of the most generous in the UK.
 
In addition, the airport plans to create a Transport Fund which could be used to improve bus connections between the airport and the Elizabeth Line and enhanced DLR operations in the mornings, benefiting staff, passengers and local residents.  
 
Commenting on the plans, the airport’s Chief Executive, Robert Sinclair, said: “As we bounce back from the pandemic and demand increases, we need to ensure London City can accommodate the increase in business and leisure passengers forecast over the next decade or so, particularly as East London grows and more and more passengers choose to fly through London’s fastest and most convenient airport. Most importantly, the proposals have been very carefully designed with input from our airlines to ensure that flying from London City becomes more sustainable, with more new generation aircraft, reducing noise impacts and emissions per passenger.
 
“We are committed to working with our local community to ensure our plans work for residents as well as our airlines and passengers. We have listened to the feedback provided in our extensive consultation, and have adjusted the proposals to reflect concerns raised, including reducing the proposed increase in operating hours on Saturdays, reducing the proposed increase in flights in the first 30 minutes and retaining the existing limit on flights in the last 30 minutes. Our proposals will create more jobs, invest more money into the local community, fund better transport connections and improve sound insulation for local residents.”
 
More detail on the proposals will be available once the London Borough of Newham have checked the application details and publicise their statutory consultation on the proposals. This is expected to run from mid-January 2023.