Summary London City Airport (LCY) has been allowed to increase its annual passenger numbers from 6 to 9 million by 2031. However, the airport was not allowed to extend its operating hours on Saturdays from 12:30 to 18:30. That was despite the fact that LCY offered to only allow next-generation aircraft to operate during the extended periods, including on Saturdays.
While London City Airport (LCY) has been allowed to increase its annual passenger cap from 6 to 9 million, the airport failed to convince local lawmakers to extend its operating hours on Saturdays. Raising the cap On August 19, LCY announced that its annual passenger cap had been raised from 6 to 9 million, with the airport also being allowed to operate three additional flights during the first 30 minutes of operations each working day. According to the 2022 application to the London Borough of Newham, the passenger cap would increase to 9 million by 2031.
LCY begins operating flights at 6:30 local time (UTC +1), with the now-approved plan of the airport’s operations resulting in nine flights operated between 6:30 and 6:59. Previously, the cap was six flights during that timeframe. At the same time, LCY emphasized that its application did not include an increase in the maximum annual flights from/to the airport or any significant infrastructure changes.
Still, the airport highlighted that its plan included the country’s first commitment to only allow “cleaner, quieter, next-generation aircraft” to operate f.