London City Airport
LONDON CITY AIRPORT: Civil airport
Note: All these pictures were obtained from Google Earth ©
ICAO code: EGLC IATA code: LCY
PICTURES OF LONDON CITY AIRPORT
Note: All pictures by the author unless specified.
Operated by: 1990/2000: London City Airport Ltd
In February 2018 Mike Charlton kindly sent me these two images from postcards. Mike has an amazing collection, see, www.aviationpostcard.co.uk
British airline users: Air Southwest, Aurigny, Blue Islands, British Airways & BA Connect, British Airways CityFlyer, British European, Brymon Airways,Flybe, Scot Airways
Foreign airline users: Aer Arran, Air Engiadina, Air France, Alitalia, Augsburg Airways, CityJet, Cross Air, Denim Air, Eastern Airways, Euro Manx, Helvetic Airways, Jet Air, KLM Cityhopper, Lufthansa Regional, Luxair, SAS Scandinavian Commuter, Sky Work, Sun Air, Swiss International Airlines, VLM
A JULY 2018 LONDON CITY GALLERY
Note: All pictures by the author.
A REVELATION
In early July my wife and I were invited to visit my nephew and his family, living in Docklands before they moved to South Wales. Knowing that they lived close to the approach and departure routes from LONDON CITY it was obvious to me that taking along a digital 'snap-omiter' might well be useful for this 'Guide'. Sitting in a back garden between two rows of town houses, the 'window of opportunity' was brief to say the least, and their kids were highly amused to see me, (an elderly old fart), jumpimg up when an airliner could be heard approaching, to take some snaps.
And to be honest I only expected to get a few results worth a mention. How wrong could I be! It wasn't until getting home and looking at the pics that I realised that so much had changed since I last looked at my listing for LONDON CITY. The entire picture had changed in virtually every respect. New aircraft types, new airlines and new airline alliances. For example, I was astonished to find I had a picture of a Dornier 328JET in BA colours registered in Denmark!
HERE ARE A FEW MORE PICS
Location: 6nm E of City of London
Period of operation: 1987 to -
Note: This map is reproduced with the kind permission of Pooleys Flight Equipment Ltd. Copyright Robert Pooley 2014:
Runway: 1990: 10/28 1030x30 hard
2001: 10/28 1199x30 hard
NOTES: It appears the first “proof of concept” flight for a London City airport was by a Brymon Airways ‘Dash 7’ at HERON QUAYS in June 1982. A further test flight occurring the following year for a public enquiry – also at HERON QUAYS. HERON QUAYS is just S of Canary Wharf and roughly 3nm W of the LONDON CITY airport. It appears from Wikipedia that: “Brymon was the lead airline in the quest for the airport and made the first ever landing in 1987.” They then commenced the first commercial flight, to PLYMOUTH, on the 26th October, presumably with a ‘Dash 7’.
This is a most unusual airport developed within the previous London docklands area between the Royal Albert Dock and King George V Dock. In 1990 it was said training flights were not normally accepted but in later years I’ve seen circuit training going on here. I’m very much a fan of seeing airline pilots flying real aircraft rather than simulators to get “hands on” experience and am glad to say this still goes on in the 21st century. I’ve seen Air France bashing the circuit at Lille in northern France with Airbus A.320s, and a Virgin Airbus A.340 doing likewise at East Midlands Airport for example.
A SERVICE TO NEW YORK
In 2010 (?) British Airways started a service to New York using a long-range version of the Airbus 318 for business users only. The outbound service lands to refuel at Shannon in Ireland on the way out due to performance issues regarding the short runway, which means they cannot carry a full fuel load. Many highly experienced long-haul pilots question the long term safety of such a service stating that after a trans-Atlantic flight the demands of a steep approach, (at 5.5° nearly double the normal approach of 3°), plus the short runway with a width one third less than typical British airports, is asking for trouble. Indeed, the amount of tail-scrapes and runway excursions at this airport far exceeds any other British airport.
This said I have used this airport on a couple of occasions and it is simply lovely and stress free compared with any other ‘London’ airport.
A VISIT IN 2024
In April 2024 I was at the airport to meet my granddaughter who was flying in from Sicily with ITA Airways who had superseded Alitalia. So, decided to arrive a couple of hours early to get some more up to date snaps. And what a change since my last visit. The terminal had been expanded but by far the most significant alteration was the taxiway up to the east end of the runway which enables considerably more movements.
A BRITISH AIRWAYS EMBREAR GALLERY
Another major change I noticed was the proliferation of British Airways Embrear ERJ 190-100 SR airliners. It appears that these are chartered by BA Cityflyer Ltd and comprise a mixture of new and previously used examples.
Notes: G-LCAB is ex EI-GOZ, G-LCAD is ex EI-GSX and G-LCAF is ex EI-GTG. Clearly a 'job lot' of some sort. The Irish have been and still are doing very well in the airline charter market, their government giving generous tax breaks for inward investment and similar advantages for international trade. Note that the ITA Airlines Airbus A220, (picture below), is also registered in Ireland. G-LCYO on the other hand, was acquired new.
Notes: G-LCYS was also acquired new from Embraer and, in this picture, has had a new rudder fitted. G-LCYV is ex N163HQ and G-LCYZ is ex VH-NJA, presumably being the last registered as it takes much longer to fly back from Australia? This fabulous photo is featured on an advert on a hoarding outside of the terminal.
OTHER VISITORS
Notes: The ITA Airways Airbus A220-100 is registered in Ireland as EI-HLA. G-OATR is an ATR 72-212A operated by Aurigny.
I remember Aurigny always being associated with their Britten-Norman Trislanders. LX-LQD is a Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8, operated by Luxair.
THE HOLDING AREA AT THE EAST END
Having the new taxiway enables more aircraft to taxy and hold awaiting their take-off clearance. For those with a keen eye it might be noticed that a couple of the approaching aircraft have some bank angle applied. It was a lovely warm day for the 'mean sea level dwellers' but prone to quite severe wind gusts, which certainly made the pilots earn their corn.
AND FINALLY - LIFT OFF!
Note: From my position most of the departing airliners disappeared from view as they rotated. These two examples became airborne very soon. Which amply illustrates the capabilities of modern short to medium haul designs.
A REMARKABLE EXCEPTION
For one day a year GA aircraft are/were invited in for a special event taking place on Saturday afternoon when the airport is officially closed. Is this still allowed? Also; see below.
A PERSONAL MEMORY
In July 2006 I was tasked with collecting the Nord NC858S G-BPZD from here, after it had suffered a major mishap during the Fly-In on the 1st July. It gives me no satisfaction whatsover as a pilot to be involved with an aircraft that has been badly damaged, no matter what the circumstances. But, I have to say, as a truck driver being allowed airside at London City airport, this is a rare privilege indeed.
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