When CityJet flight AF5118 arrived at London City Airport from Dublin at 08.50 this morning it brought the total number of flights handled by the airport since it opened in 1987 to one million.
As the unsuspecting passengers walked through the arrivals doors into the main terminal concourse, they were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine and an impromptu Irish dance performance from professional dancers who had been mingling with the normal Wednesday morning crowds. The performance can be viewed at youtube.com/lcyirishflashmob
Declan Collier, Chief Executive of London City Airport, believes the second million flights will not take as long to achieve. “The airport is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and it’s great that the two landmarks are happening together in 2012 – which, of course, happens to be when the greatest sporting show in the world is in town.
“We are extremely proud to have worked with our airline partners past and present to deliver one million movements in that 25-year period – a million movements that have carried a total of 35.5 million passengers.
“From here, we are looking at the next million movements. We handled 70,000 in 2011, we expect some 90,000 in 2015 and we have permission for 120,000 – although we will need to make some more space for that number – so it’s perfectly possible that the next million are achievable within 10 years. London City Airport has been a fantastic success story to date and we are committed to seeing that success continue.”
