London City Airport passenger cap to rise by 2.5m

The government rejected changes to a Saturday curfew

The annual passenger cap will increase from 6.5 million to 9 million at London City Airport under plans approved by the government.

Another proposal to extend the airport's Saturday cut-off time for flights from 12:30 to 18:30 was rejected following an appeal decision published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Alison FitzGerald, the airport's chief executive, welcomed raising the passenger cap but said she was "disappointed" the curfew was not changed.

Greenpeace said the approval "undermines the UK’s climate leadership" and would "mostly benefit an elite of wealthy frequent fliers".

Weekend respite

The increased passenger cap will be met by an increase in the number of morning flights from 06:00 to 09:00, with the condition that quieter aircraft are used during this time.

The airport said it would have only allowed "cleaner, quieter, next generation aircraft" in the extended period.

Newham Council's strategic development committee unanimously rejected the proposals from the airport in July 2023 but an appeal was brought to the Planning Inspectorate.

One of the primary issues cited by the committee was around noise and changes to the "weekend respite" rule which has been in place for 25 years.

The Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said she had concerns about the impact of more aircraft noise on residents, but welcomed the government’s acceptance that the Saturday cut-off would remain in place.

She said: "I remain deeply concerned that our residents will be seriously harmed by the impact of further air-flight noise with today’s decision to allow an increase in flights in the early mornings throughout the rest of the week.

"We will be studying the decision notice carefully and considering all options as we remain concerned about the detrimental impacts on the health and quality of life of our residents."

Climate campaigners and residents' groups have objected to the expansion

Ms FitzGerald said: "Rejecting our request to extend our Saturday afternoon operating hours will slow down airlines bringing cleaner, quieter next generation aircraft to the airport.

"Local residents would have had the added benefit of these aircraft operating at the airport throughout the week, not just in the extended operating hours."

The decision was taken by Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Louise Haigh, the Secretary of State for Transport.

A letter announcing their decision said: "The Secretaries of State also agree that the reduction in curfew would not facilitate a reduction in total noise effects."

The cabinet ministers agreed that the increased passenger cap was needed to meet a growth in demand at the airport.

'Clumsy mistep'

Paul Morozzo, climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: "This decision is a surprisingly clumsy misstep from our new government.

"Over half of the destinations served by the airport can be reached by train in under six hours, with Amsterdam and Edinburgh among the most popular routes."

As well as Newham, the proposals had been opposed by eight other London councils near the airport along with a local campaign groups.

BBC News has contacted the Department for Transport for comment.