London City Airport passengers up

London City Airport had its best year ever in 2007 with more than 2.9 million passengers using the airport, an increase of 23% on 2006.

London City Airport describes itself as “the only airport in London”, being located only three miles from Canary Wharf and six miles from the City of London and the only airport with a London postcode. The airport is also only two miles from the site of the 2012 Olympic Games, and could play a key role in transporting athletes to the games.

“London City Airport’s convenient location, combined with fast check in and arrival processing times, appeals to time-poor business travellers. There is no doubt that passengers all across London and the South East are waking up to the options offered by this airport; not least the attractive five minutes taken to exit the terminal from the steps of the aircraft,” says London City Airport chief executive, Richard Gooding.

New flights were introduced in 2007 from London City Airport to Belfast, Glasgow, Groningen, Madrid, Nice, Oslo and Vienna. The airport claims to be the UK’s leading business airport, with 11 airlines serving 33 destinations across the UK and Europe.

A number of new flights have already been announced for this year. British Airways is launching new flights to Nice in March, and new flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona and Warsaw in May. And German airline Lufthansa is set to introduce a twice daily service from London City Airport to Berlin on 14 January.

At the end of last year, Air France-KLM announced its intention to buy VLM, the largest airline at London City Airport. The airport has also put in a planning application to dramatically increase the number of flight movements at the airport to 120,000 in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

Written by: Nick Purdom