- What are the major benefits of London City Airport?
- We are in the heart of London and the 2012 Olympic Games. London City Airport is not only close to Stratford International, home to the Olympic Stadium, but also neighbour to the Excel Centre, also a very important venue for the Olympics. Our airport is directly connected to these venues, via the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). Just last week, DLR opened the new Stratford extension that runs between Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International with stops at London City Airport and Canning Town en route.

- Who are your major passengers and how will the passenger dynamics change during the Olympic Games?
- Currently two thirds of our passengers are travelling on business; this is the highest market share when compared to other London airports. Recent route developments have opened new leisure travel opportunities for us and the Olympic Games will be a great catalyst in supporting this new market. We expect a decline regular business travel during the Games, if trends in other countries are to be believed, so this is an opportunity to increase the leisure offering for those new to London City Airport and showcase our unique USP’s and benefits.

- What kind of opportunities for leisure travel you can offer?
- Expansion of our leisure portfolio includes destinations such as Faro, Malaga, Barcelona, Palma and Ibiza with BA, plus French provincial routes of Avignon, Toulon, Pau, Deauville and Brive with wholly-owned Air France subsidiary, CityJet. It is possible to further increase leisure flights between morning and evening peak times and we are working closely with the airlines to maximise those opportunities between 9:30 am to 3 pm.

- How many passengers travel through your airport?
- Some 3 million passengers a year travel via London City Airport and we aim for 5 million by 2020 and 8 million by 2030.

- How important for the airport’s growth is to have a partner like DLR?
- It is vital. More passengers arrive at the airport via public transport than any other London airport-over 50% by DLR. The train station is integrated with the airport with just a 50 metre walk from the train to the airport terminal. The extension to Stratford delivers even better connectivity with London and our passengers see DLR as a major benefit. We have a direct DLR connection with Bank and a fast link to Canary Wharf – London’s two major financial districts.

- How are you preparing for the Olympics?
- Earlier this year we invested £7m to increase and improve the security screening area; this has increased the speed of passenger processing. We have also upgraded and appointed new retail, food and beverage concessions to ensure the offering meets the demands of our passenger profile.

- You will be speaking at our conference in London on 20th October, what will be your major focus points?
- The Future of London City Airport – how we can capitalise on our location for the Olympics and beyond and our partnership with DLR and wider connections to London and the support we will need from stakeholders and suppliers to deliver this.

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