London City Airport (LCY) is perplexed and disappointed by the Mayor of London’s direction to refuse planning permission for the City Airport Development Programme (CADP) – a scheme which solely comprises the extension of existing infrastructure to enable the airport to achieve an already-permitted growth in flight numbers.
The CADP has the ability to deliver an additional £750m per annum to the UK economy, 2,000 new jobs in Newham and the east of London (500 of these during construction), vital additional air connectivity for the capital, the arrival of ‘Next Generation’ aircraft (which are quieter and have a longer range) and will create a world-class gateway to the burgeoning economic and tech centres that are London’s Royal Docks, the Queen Elizabeth Park and Stratford.
Declan Collier, Chief Executive Officer, London City Airport, believes the decision goes against everything that the Mayor supports and promotes.
“It is ironic that the Mayor of London, whose platform has always been one of advantage for business in London, is denying the capital the business opportunity presented by growth at London City Airport.
It is doubly ironic that this decision was taken on LCY’s busiest-ever day , when more than 16,500 passengers passed through the terminal. Demand for the connectivity the airport provides is growing, driven by the success of London as a global business centre, and to service this demand, the airport needs to grow.
Development at London City Airport, which is in line with current aviation policy, would also inject extra airport capacity into the London system at a time when that capacity is very constrained – and will continue to be at least until 2030, which is the earliest date that new runway infrastructure could be delivered. The Mayor’s decision has also jeopardised this additional capacity uplift.”
London City Airport is considering the substance of the Mayor’s direction to refuse and will make a decision on its response strategy in due course.
26/03/2015
