London City Airport has initiated the public consultation for its 2035 draft masterplan, which sets out the airport’s vision for dealing with the growing demand for air travel in a sustainable and responsible way.
It follows a 42% increase in passengers at the airport since 2014 and highlights the continued shift in London’s center toward the east, where the rate of growth in population, homes, jobs and office space is higher than any other part of the capital.
At the heart of the plan is sustainability, with measures that will encourage airlines to accelerate investment in the latest generation of cleaner and quieter aircraft.
The airport has pledged to be carbon neutral by the end of this year and also committed this week to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The draft masterplan also sets out how the airport will work with partners to further improve its position as the UK’s best airport for public transportation use, raising the proportion of people traveling to and from the airport by public and sustainable modes from 69% today to 80% in 2035. This could be achieved by more capacity and earlier start times on the DLR; the new Crossrail service; adding walking, cycling and riverboat routes; and expanding sustainable transportation initiatives for staff.
The airport can respond to demand by making best use of the existing runway and infrastructure with only limited further development required to 2035. The draft masterplan does not consider any provision for a new or extended runway or a new terminal.
The airport predicts that the growth of the airport could create up to 2,500 additional jobs for local people and will deliver an overall economic contribution of £2bn (US$2.5bn) per year by 2035.
The draft masterplan forecasts that the airport will reach its current passenger cap of 6.5 million and 111,000 flights in 2022. It also predicts demand for up to 9.8 million passengers by 2030 and 11 million passengers by 2035, representing only 4% of the London market at that time.
Views are being sought on some additional operational flexibility in the current restrictions in the first and last 30 minutes of operations and at weekends.
Consultation on the draft masterplan lasts for 12 weeks, starting today (June 28) and ends on September 20, 2019. The airport is encouraging communities and stakeholders to review the documents and provide feedback on how the airport can grow sustainably.
Robert Sinclair, CEO for London City Airport, said, “This draft masterplan is a long-term vision for London City Airport, detailing how London’s most central airport can meet continued demand sustainably, create jobs and opportunities for East London, and support the capital as a major global city for tourism and business.
“These proposals reflect the airport’s changing role, with an increasing proportion of leisure passengers choosing the airport, and East London’s continued transformation. Most importantly, sustainability is central to our thinking. We have carefully developed these plans to strongly incentivize our airlines to re-fleet to cleaner, quieter new generation aircraft, minimize further construction activity, reduce emissions, limit aircraft noise, preserve air quality, and create meaningful opportunities for our local community.”
A final masterplan, taking into account the feedback received during the public consultation, will be published before the end of the year.
