London City Airport consultation on plans to increase passenger numbers from 6.5 million to 9 million per year

London City Airport has a consultation (ends 9th September) about further expansion.  It wants to increase passenger numbers from 6.5 million to 9 million per year. It wants to end the ban on flights on Saturday afternoon and evening; and operate more flights during the first hour of operation after 6.30am, and also in the late evening. The annual cap on the number of flights permitted will remain at 111,000. Earlier proposals to raise it to 151,000 have been dropped. The 8 hour night period with no flights will also remain in place.  The airport will stipulate that only the “cleaner, quieter ” planes (ie. in theory, slightly lower carbon emissions, and slightly less noisy) can fly during the additional hours of operation. Hacan East says these planes will be noticeably quieter but only on departure and only within about 4 miles from the airport. The difference is negligible elsewhere. There will be “more flexibility” (ie. allowing later flights) for delayed departures and arrivals in the last half hour of operations each day (10pm – 10.30pm) – they are currently limited to 400 per year. There will be larger planes (ie. noisier), to increase the annual number of passengers (most are now leisure).
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LONDON CITY AIRPORT HAS LAUNCHED A 10 WEEK CONSULTATION INTO GROWTH PROPOSALS.

5.7.2022

From Hacan East

THE  RESIDENTS FACE THE PROSPECT OF MORE PLANES AT WEEKENDS AND IN THE EARLY MORNING AND LATE EVENINGS .

SEE BELOW HACAN EAST BRIEFING ON THE PLANS, PLUS AN AID TO RESPONDING TO THE CONSULTATION.

 The airport will be seeking permission to:

· Increase passenger numbers from 6.5 million to 9 million a year

·  Get rid of the ban on flights on Saturday afternoon and evening

·  Operate more flights during the first hour of operation after 6.30am and in the late evening

 The annual cap on the number of flights permitted will remain at 111,000. Earlier proposals to raise it to 151,000 have been dropped. The 8 hour night plan will also remain in place.

 There is likely to be anger amongst communities at the plans to operate more flights at weekends and in the early morning and late evening. Since London City opened residents have had a break from the noise between 12.30pm Saturday and 12.30pm Sunday. There will be anger that the only break now will be for a few hours on Sunday morning.

 The airport will stipulate that only the cleaner, quieter planes can fly during the additional hours of operation. It hopes this will act as an incentive for these planes to be used at all times by the airline. These planes are only noticeably quieter on when taking off over communities close to the airport. but the airport hopes their widespread use will reduce will reduce the overall noise footprint. These planes are larger. This is why the airport can propose increasing the number of passengers using it each year without also seeking to lift the annual cap on flight numbers.

The consultation will start on 1st July and run until 9th September. London City will be holding a number of exhibitions. Details are on City’s website and below. If, after the consultation, London City wishes to proceed with its proposals, it will need to be subject to a formal consultation by the planning authority, the London Borough of Newham.

The changes to the flight paths to bring more respite to residents which London City is working on is a separate process. It wants to bring in the changes it is consulting on by 2024. Flight path changes are unlikely before 2027.

KEY PROPOSALS ANALYSED

Hacan East have analysed London City’s key proposals as they impact on noise, climate, air pollution and surface transport in this short briefing:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56507de4e4b018da2a5ce870/t/62e3d4897d9de86c51b4f1cf/1659098259006/City+Airport+key+proposals+analysed.pdf


BRIEFING HACAN East HAVE PRODUCED ON THE CONSULTATION

LONDON CITY GROWTH PROPOSALS

On July 1st London City published it proposals for growth. They are out for consultation until September 9th. If, following the consultation, London City decide to proceed with them, there will need to be a formal consultation by the London Borough of Newham, the planning authority.  London City aims to have its new plans in place by 2024.

 The details of the plans, plus details of the consultation and of the exhibitions, can be found on the airport’s website at https://consultation.londoncityairport.com/

 In summary, these are the key proposals:

  • an increase in annual passenger limit from 6.5 million to 9 million;

  • getting rid of the current curfew on flights (12.30pm Saturday – 12.30pm Sunday) to allow flying on a Saturday afternoon and evening – there will be no change to the current operating hours on Sunday, with no flights before 12.30 pm;

  • An increase in the number of flights permitted between 06:30 and 06:59, from 6 to 12

  •  ‘more flexibility’ for delayed departures and arrivals in the last half hour of operations each day (10pm – 10.30pm) – they are currently limited to 400 per year;

  • only the cleaner, quieter planes will be allowed during the additional hours of operation – London City believes this will act as an incentive for airlines to renew their fleet so these aircraft become the norm at all times. These planes are larger which allows London City to seek to increase annual passenger numbers but not the total number of flights.

What is not changing:

  • The 8 hour night ban will remain (10.30pm – 6.30am)

  • The current annual cap of 111,000 flights will remain – London City seems to have dropped, certainly for now, the proposal in its Masterplan to seek to increase it to 151,000.

  •  No increase at parking at the airport.

COMMENT ON THE PROPOSALS

 End of Weekend Respite

The proposal to permit flights after 12.30pm on Saturdays ends the valued weekend break from the flights and the noise which has existed since the airport opened more than 30 years ago. It was brought in because so many people live so close to the airport. City has given no indication of the number of aircraft there will be during this additional 9.5 hour period. Will it be 5 an hour? Could it be up to 45 an hour?

 More Early morning and Late Evening Flights

These are the times when people tend to be most sensitive to the noise from the flights.

 ‘Quieter’ Planes

These planes will be noticeably quieter but only on departure and only within about 4 miles from the airport. The difference is negligible elsewhere.

 No Link with Flight Path Changes

London City is currently revising its flights paths. It will be a long process. Consultation not expected until late 2023/early 2024, with the new flight paths not in place until 2027. The timescale for the growth proposals is shorter. But no link has been made between the growth proposals and the flight path changes.

Consultation Exhibitions Poorly Advertised

The details are on London’s City’s website but, so far, there is no indication of a widespread publicity campaign. And no exhibitions are planned for some key overflown boroughs such as Havering, Southwark and Lambeth.

The Consultation Response Form is Poor

It seeks to collect views on many things not directly connected to this consultation while not asking some key questions about its proposals, such as whether you back Saturday afternoon and evening flying. If you do not wish to fill it in you can email London City directly with your comments: londoncityairport@cratus.co.uk


There is also Hacan East’s guide to completing the consultation

See  http://www.hacaneast.org.uk/news

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London City Airport restarts expansion plans

5 JULY 2022

BY ROB HORGAN (New Civil Engineer)

London City Airport has returned to expansion plans which were put on ice in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19.

The airport has launched a 10-week public consultation on plans to increase annual passenger numbers from 6.5M to 9M.

To handle the additional passenger numbers, London City Airport has confirmed that it will return to previous plans to expand the airport’s terminal.

The airport’s consultation document adds: “The current terminal has permission for expansion as part of the CADP development.

“This development, coupled with enhanced passenger processing technologies will allow more passengers to be handled at a higher standard of service than achieved today. This includes continuous improvement of services for passengers with additional service needs, including engagement with representative groups and investment in facilities.”

The airport’s masterplan adds: “A new terminal will not be required to deliver the growth forecast in this master plan. The planned transformation and expansion of the terminal building […] will deliver efficiencies through internal re-design but may need to be further reconfigured and optimised to provide enough capacity to handle the forecast increased demand.”

Permission is also in place for a reconfiguration of the terminal forecourt to the east of the terminal to deliver new accommodation for buses as well as new drop-off and pick-up for taxis and private cars.

The airport’s proposed expansion requires no additional work to the runway or airfield due to construction activity carried out pre-pandemic.

Between 2017 and 2020, the airfield infrastructure at London City Airport was transformed, with the construction of a new 70,000m2 concrete deck to house the parallel taxiway and aircraft stands.

The deck was created by drilling 1,000 piles of concrete 20m below the bed of the King George V Dock. The project was carried out by Bam Nuttal.

The parallel taxiway is now operational, maximising the potential of the airport’s runway and providing the ability to allow 45 aircraft movements per hour when demand returns.

In addition, the airport now possesses eight new aircraft stands.

London City chief executive Robert Sinclair said: “The strength of our rebound [since the pandemic] demonstrates the huge pent-up demand for air travel and the need to plan responsibly for the future.

“Following our commitment to be the first net zero airport in London by 2030, these proposals set out how London City and its airlines can meet future demand in a sustainable way.

“In particular, it will accelerate investment in cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft, for use in the extended periods, delivering the benefit of quieter aircraft to our local community throughout the whole week.”

The 10-week public consultation runs from 1 July until 9 September.

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/london-city-airport-restarts-expansion-plans-05-07-2022/

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