London City Airport has been given planning permission from the UK government for the expansion of the terminal, which will increase annual capacity to 6.5 million passengers.
The expansion plans come as part of the City Airport Development Programme – a £344 million project to enhance the airport to cater for increasing passenger traffic. Plans are in place to build seven new aircraft stands and a parallel taxiway, and also to extend the passenger terminal.
The expansion will allow for an extra 32,000 flights from the airport by 2025. Airlines will also have more opportunities for long-haul flights to destinations such as the Middle East or the east coast of the United States.
Declan Collier, CEO of London City Airport, said: “Today, the new government has shown it is ready to act in the best interests of the British economy. Expansion at London City Airport will create more than 2,000 new jobs in East London, add much-needed aviation capacity in the South East, and generate an additional £750m per year for the UK economy.
“As the airport serving by far the highest proportion of business travellers in the UK (52%), who do some £11 billion of trade in Europe annually, today the government has sent a strong message that London and the UK are very much open for business. I welcome the decision and look forward to delivering new airport capacity for the South East by 2019.”
