London City Airport

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London City

IATA: LCY - ICAO: EGLC
Summary
Airport type		public
Operator		Dermot Desmond
Serves		London
Elevation AMSL		19 ft (6 m)
Coordinates		51° 30' 18" N 0° 3' 15" E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
28/10	4,327	1,319	Paved

London City Airport (IATA: LCY, ICAO: EGLC) is a single-runway STOLPORT situated in the London Borough of Newham in East London and developed by the private engineering company Mowlem in 1986/87.

1 History
2 Economics and communications
3 Aircraft and airlines
4 External links

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History

The airport was first proposed in 1981 by the London Docklands Development Corporation. Construction began on the site (the former Royal Docks) in 1986. [1]

Queen Elizabeth II officially opened London City Airport in November 1987 and it since has become recognised as one of Europe's leading airports for business travel.

It has subsequently been extended in three significant stages. The runway was lengthened and the angle of glideslopes was reduced from 7.5 to 5.5 degrees, still relatively steep for a European airport. The western apron was enlarged and a turning loop built in 2003 at the eastern end of the runway.

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Economics and communications

Over 1.6 million passengers use the airport annually and its management believes that economic development nearby will sustain a potential for over five million passengers per annum. Domestic routes to Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Dundee, the Isle of Man and Jersey complement international services.

It has become a useful adjunct to London's larger airports, particularly for workers frequenting Docklands, and has met its operating costs in recent years. It is an important element in the Newham labour market and, together with the nearby ExCeL Exhibition Centre, has stimulated a local surge of hotel building.

Passenger access to the City of London is being facilitated by the building of an extra spur of the Docklands Light Railway from Canning Town, which is planned to open in December 2005. This should reduce passengers' dependence on cars and taxis. In the meantime, frequent express shuttle buses operate to Canning Town, Canary Wharf and Liverpool Street with cheaper slower buses provided by London Buses to Walthamstow, Plaistow, Canning Town and Stratford stations. Onward tube connections are available from all these places. One London Buses route heads east from the terminal to meet the Woolwich Ferry that can take passengers across to Woolwich on the southern bank of the River Thames.

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Aircraft and airlines

The airport is unusual to the extent that, from the opening day, stringent rules were imposed on the noise impact acceptable from each aircraft departure. This, together with the physical dimensions of the runway, limits the range of aircraft types that are acceptable to the airport and planning authorities.

Typical mid-range airliners seen here include the ATR42, DHC Dash 8, BAe-146 Whisperjet, Dornier 328, Fokker 50 and Saab 2000. Corporate aircraft such as the Beechcraft Super King Air, Cessna Citation X, Raytheon Hawker 400 and 800, and variants of the Dassault Falcon bizjet are increasingly common, but larger or noisier types are not permitted. Helicopters are also denied access for environmental reasons. The earliest scheduled flights were operated by Bombardier Dash Sevens and Dornier 228 aircraft with Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam being the initial destinations. The size of the airport, constrained by the water-filled Royal Albert and King George V docks to the north and south respectively, means that there are no covered maintenance facilities for aircraft. Passengers are likely to perceive the compact terminal as a benefit.