London City Airport Information
London City Airport is a single-runway airport, intended for use by STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) airliners, and principally serving the financial districts of London. This airport could also be considered a STOLport. It is located on a former Docklands site, in the London Borough of Newham in East London, England, and was developed by the engineering company Mowlem in 1986/87. London City is the fifth-largest international airport in size serving the London area after Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton.
London City Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P728) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction, subject to an aircraft being approved for a 5.5 degree or steeper approach.
Queen Elizabeth II opened London City Airport in November 1987.
Placing a commercial airport into congested airspace (the London Terminal Movements Area (TMA)) was a challenge for the National Air Traffic Service (NATS). In the event, a new airspace authority, Thames Radar, was established to provide a radar control service and provide safe separations for London City arrivals and departures.
The airport has been extended in three stages. The original runway was 1080 metres in length.[3] The runway was lengthened and the angle of glideslopes was reduced from 7.5 to 5.5 degrees, still steep for a European airport. The western apron was enlarged and a turning loop built in 2003 at the eastern end of the runway.
More than 2.3 million passengers used the airport in 2006. Its management believes that economic development nearby will sustain a potential for over five million passengers per annum. Domestic routes to Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Dundee, the Isle of Man and Jersey complement international services.
