"While we welcome the approval to increase our passenger numbers, we are disappointed with the Government's decision to reject our proposal to fly from 12:30pm to 6:30pm on Saturday afternoons," Alison FitzGerald, the CEO of London City Airport, said in a statement. "As the Government has recognised in its decision, rejecting our request to extend our Saturday afternoon operating hours will slow down airlines bringing cleaner, quieter next generation aircraft to the airport. Local residents would have had the advantage of reduced noise with these new aircraft."
London City Airport has been increasing passenger numbers since the pandemic; however, it hasn't yet reached its pre-pandemic figures like the 5.1 million travelers it handled in 2019. While the expansion allows for up to 9 million passengers, the airport remains far below the bustling figures of London's Heathrow Airport.
The small airport is equipped with just 15 gates spread across two wings and last year served only 3.4 million passengers, a fraction compared to the 79 million at Heathrow.
Currently, London City Airport operates from 4:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and has strict guidelines that prevent extending its hours, such as the denied request to close at 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays due to noise concerns.
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