London City Airport has suspended its development programme as the aviation industry continues to suffer the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
London City announced that it would pause development at the end of this year upon completion of new aircraft stands, a full-length parallel taxiway and new passenger facilities.
Bam Nuttall won a £95m contract for the first stage of work at the airport to complete a 75,000 m2 concrete desk extension which was due for completion this year, to pave the way to expand the airport’s capacity from 4.5m passengers a year to 6.5m.
But at the height of the covid-19 crisis, the airport took the decision to suspend commercial flights, re-opening on 21 June. Since then, the recovery of the UK aviation market has been slower than expected.
By the end of 2020, the airport will have completed a number of projects, including eight new aircraft stands capable of accommodating the new generation of cleaner, more sustainable aircraft such as the Airbus A220, and the Embraer E2-190, along with a full length parallel taxiway providing the ability to allow 45 aircraft movements per hour. At the start of September, a new immigration facility will also be opened to passengers.
In a statement, a spokesman for the airport said the business has decided to “re-evaluate the timing of the next phases of the development programme, including the new terminal extension”.
Robert Sinclair, CEO of London City Airport said: “For the time being, we have taken the decision to focus our attention on delivering the vital additional airfield infrastructure which will provide our existing and prospective airline customers with the potential to bring new generation aircraft to this airport in greater numbers, which will be a crucial aspect of how we build a better, more sustainable airport.
“Completing the terminal extension and new east pier very much remains part of our future, and, with the foundations for both in place, we stand ready to take those projects forward when demand returns.”
