Our city, your airport, your say.

Have your say on our future plans

London City Airport has submitted an application to the London Borough of Newham to make changes to its existing planning permission for the City Airport Development Programme (CADP).

The application follows an extensive 10-week local consultation carried out by the airport last summer. The feedback raised some important issues to local residents which has helped inform some adjustments to the proposals.

The application seeks to:

• Increase the current planning cap on the number of passengers from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers per annum by 2031;

• Extend operating hours on Saturday from the current closing time of 12.30pm to 6.30 pm, with an additional hour in Summer for arriving flights only, up to a maximum of 12; and

• Allow three additional flights in the first half hour of operations on Mondays to Saturdays (6.30am-6.59am) with a new limit of 9 flights instead of the current limit of 6 flights.

The application is not seeking:

• any increase to the annual number of permitted flights, which will remain at 111,000;

• any change to the existing 8-hour nightly curfew;

• any additional infrastructure;

• any changes to Sunday operations which will be unchanged, commencing from 12.30pm until 10.00pm; or

• any change to the restrictions in the last 30 minutes of operations which will remain capped at 400 per annum for late departing or arriving aircraft.

In a first for a UK airport, London City will mandate that only cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft will be allowed to operate in any newly extended hours on a Saturday, and for any new flights in the first half hour of the day. This will result in airlines replacing their older fleets with new generation aircraft in order to benefit from any increased flexibility, which in turn will accelerate the benefits of quieter aircraft for local residents throughout the week as the airport becomes home to one of the newest, most modern, aircraft fleets in the country.

With East London, and Newham in particular, facing up to the stark challenges of the cost-of-living crisis, the airport will, as part of the plans, offer a new Community Fund of £3.8 million over ten years to be distributed directly to local good causes via the established Trust. The growth in passenger numbers to 9 million annually and increased operational flexibility will also create almost 2,200 additional jobs across London, with 1,340 additional jobs being created at the airport itself.

The plans include further enhancements to the airport’s sound insulation scheme, which is already one of the most generous in the UK. In addition, the airport plans to create a Transport Fund which could be used to improve bus connections between the airport and the Elizabeth line and enhanced DLR operations in the mornings, benefiting staff, passengers, and local residents.

The application documents can be viewed here.

The London Borough of Newham is considering the application and as part of that process has carried out its own consultation on the proposals. The consultation period commenced on 01 February 2022 and ran for a period of 30 days. Those wishing to make comments on the proposals can do so online by visiting Newham’s planning website at www.newham.gov.uk/pa or by writing to the Council at Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, E16 2QU (London Borough of Newham).

The application reference is 22/03045/VAR.

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