On November 5, 2024, British flag carrier British Airways marked the 25th anniversary since it first commenced operations from London-City Airport (LCY). The airline, which currently has a fleet of 20 Embraer ERJ-190s based at the airport, operates all services from the facility through its regional subsidiary BA Cityflyer.
On November 5, 1999, British Airways’ then-Manchester-based franchise partner British Regional Airlines (since dissolved) commenced a three-times daily weekday operation from Sheffield-City Airport (since closed) to London-City. Since then, more than 27 million customers have flown on aircraft operating under the British Airways banner, either on the carrier’s planes or those of partner airlines.
BA Cityflyer began flying from London-City in 2007, taking over from BA Connect, and has since flown to more than 50 destinations across Europe. Cities such as Frankfurt and Geneva have been some of the longest-serving routes, while the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh is the most flown-to destination, closely followed by Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt (Germany).
London-City Airport is located around eight miles from Central London and just minutes from the capital’s financial district of Canary Wharf. The airport opened in 1987 and handled 3.4 million passengers in 2023. This number is expected to rise in 2024, bringing the airport closer to the figure of five million seen in 2019. Today, BA Cityflyer is the largest airline flying from London-City Airport and currently flies direct services to 26 short-haul destinations, the furthest of which is the Greek island of Mykonos, a sector length of 1,570 miles (2,512km).
“Not only is London City easily accessible from across the capital, but it’s a quick and seamless journey through the airport, from check-in to gate in 20 minutes,” said BA Cityflyer’s CEO, Tom Stoddart. “We’re proud to offer this experience to our customers, and reaching this quarter-century milestone is a testament to our team’s hard work in growing our operation over the years.”
Alison FitzGerald, CEO of London City Airport, added: “We are delighted to celebrate 25 years of our special relationship with British Airways and its subsidiary BA Cityflyer, which represents a huge milestone in the history of London City Airport as our largest serving carrier.”
“As London’s most centrally located airport offering an unrivaled customer experience, we are excited for our passengers to take advantage of this fantastic anniversary offer to fly to a range of exciting holiday destinations,” FitzGerald added.
Marking the silver anniversary of operations at the airport, BA Cityflyer has launched a sale offering up to 25% off fares to a range of city break destinations. Customers can take advantage of the offer when booking before November 11, 2024, and traveling before March 31, 2025.
The airport currently offers flights to 33 European destinations operated by nine carriers – British Airways City Flyer, SWISS, KLM, ITA Airways, Luxair, LOT Polish Airlines, Loganair, Aurigny, and Lufthansa. During November 2024, there are 4,056 flights scheduled to arrive and depart from the facility, with BA Cityflyer operating over 50% of these.