The cramped departures area at London City Airport (LCY) is being reconfigured as part of a £16m/$25m programme to improve the space and add more retail by summer 2016. The move follows the blocking of a much bigger expansion project by London Mayor Boris Johnson (see last paragraph for more information).

Work has begun on the 2,130sq m western pier, which houses 70% of the departure gates and where, currently, there is no retail offer. The pier will increase in area to 3,910sq m. TRBusiness understands that the new large, design will incorporate retail units, but that there will be no tenders for them.

On retail, a spokesperson for LCY says: “There will be three units of approximately 30sq m split between retail and F&B as well as a ‘pod’ for foreign exchange. These are likely to be let to existing operators within the airport.” The core retail offer, run by LS Travel Retail, is in the post-security central area of the terminal.

LCY will be improving the media formats along the pier to include the latest in digital technology while seven business zones, designed for quiet working will be sponsored. “An improved Gateroom Network and Media Wall will be visible to all departures along the pier,” says the spokesperson. “Sponsorship of the pier will be possible through a number of lightboxes that follow passengers as they walk towards their gate.”

‘BUSINESS CLASS FOR ALL’

The aim of the revamp is to create a bright, open-plan space with electronic boarding gates, workspaces, quiet areas and charging points, essentially “a business class feel, but available to all” as the airport’s CEO, Declan Collier, puts it. The 84% increase in space will accommodate 600 additional seats.

 

LCY was built in 1987 and designed for thousands of passengers, not the 4m that are expected by the end of this year. Collier says: “People choose LCY for its unrivalled location so close to central London, the speed of check-in and arrivals, and for the quality of the experience here. Without development, that experience was at risk of being compromised.”

Work on the western pier is being carried out under ‘permitted development’ which does not need planning approval. The project is not part of the City Airport Development Programme for which planning was denied by London Mayor Boris Johnson even though it got the green light from the local council. LCY has mounted an appeal against the Mayor’s decision.