London City Airport plans to expand its flight offerings from business to leisure if an aircraft commonly used by low-cost carriers is approved to operate at the airport.
The London aviation hub has submitted an application to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow Airbus A320neo aircraft to use its runway.
An A320neo aircraft has a passenger capacity of over 180 and can travel over 1,000km to destinations across mainland Europe.
In August 2024, the Government approved London City’s proposals to increase its annual passenger cap from 6.5 million to 9 million by 2031.
However, this included no extension of the permitted number of annual flights – currently, 111,000 movements per year.
If successful, this application would enable London City to reach the permitted passenger capacity with “fewer flight movements”.
It would also open up “a range of possible new routes for passengers”, the airport added in a statement.
The airport said the possible introduction of the A320neo aircraft would be “key” to building its leisure offering.
On average, 95 flights depart London City Airport daily, with British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM among 10 carriers that fly to and from the airport.
If approved, the door could open for budget airlines, including easyJet, Jet2 and WizzAir, which use A320neo aircraft within their fleets, to operate at the airport.
The airlines have so far said they have “no plans” to fly from London City Airport.
The application also asked the CAA to approve a new flight procedure (RNP AR), which would alter the runway approach angle to support this aircraft in place of the current steep approach.
Alison FitzGerald, CEO of London City Airport, said: “The potential introduction of the A320neo aircraft at London City Airport is incredibly exciting.
“It would broaden the range of leisure destinations for our passengers, enable growth without increasing the number of flight movements, deliver much needed economic growth and accelerate refleeting to cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft.”
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