London City airport History

The idea for London City Airport was first conceived in 1981 by Reg Ward who was the Chief Executive of the new London Docklands Development Corporation. His idea was developed with the assistane of Sir Phillip Beck who was the chairman of John Mowlem & Co. plc. and as a result the plans for the London City Airport were drawn out.

The proposals for the London City Airport were submitted in November 1981, and in 1982 the tests for the new site were successful after a Dash 7 aircraft was landed on the proposed site to illustrate the feasibility of the area for landing commercial aircraft.

Several problems had to be overcome before the construction could take place and after many ranglings over planning permission and also a public enquiry the construction commenced in 1986. The construction process was given a high profile due to the Prince of Wales laying the first stone in the terminal building and the Royals returned soon after when the Queen opened London City Airport in November 1987.

There were several improvements made to London City Airport in 2003 including an extension of the runway and turning loop as well as modifications to one of the airports aprons.

London City Airport dealt with over 1.9 million passengers in 2005 and has recently met its own costs. The future target for London City Airport is 5 million passengers per year, a number the current facilities are projected to be able to handle as local development provides more passengers and development potential for the airport.