The A318s, used by British Airways on their twice weekdaily New York JFK route (via Shannon) exclusively use the extended stands at the eastern end of the apron. Recently, all stands have been realigned to cope with the E190 as more airlines have introduced it. The largest aircraft currently certified to fly into London City are the Airbus A318 and Embraer 190. However, 35% are leisure passengers – a figure which has risen recently due to the addition of numerous routes by BA CityFlyer to holiday destinations such as Ibiza and Palma. Geraldine explains that approximately 65% of passengers travel for this reason. Today, London City is still primarily a business airport. The glideslop to the runway was also reduced to 5.5 degrees (from 7.5), however this is still steep enough to require special certification for pilots and aircraft operating into the airport. The runway was later extended to 1,500m (4,900ft) and a holding area was added to improve the flow of aircraft. The airport’s short runway meant only certain aircraft types could operate into the airport, and thus range and passenger capacity were limited. The development of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), with a station at the airport, also allowed easy access to the city’s transport network. Its location, only six miles from the City and Canary Wharf, was key in that it provided close connections to the heart of London, allowing business travellers to fly to European cities with speed and ease not offered by Heathrow or Gatwick. London City Airport opened in 1987 on a former dock in the East London borough of Newham. In this final post, I talk to Geraldine Nolan, Corporate Communications Support, about the vision, airline operators, and the future of London City. In the second I visited the Ramp Control Team as they monitored and planned each aircraft operation. In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city.
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