For anyone keen on flying it is definitely worth landing at once. It's a bit of a different experience to your normal flight.
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London City Airport Expansion
- Thread starter MPW
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For anyone keen on flying it is definitely worth landing at once. It's a bit of a different experience to your normal flight.
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Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
I think it depends. I flew through there on Thursday, 4.30pm arrival then connection on to a 7.30pm departure. There were queues at passport control to speak to an agent, which I had to do as I was travelling with a child, but the eGates were empty. The queue wasn’t very well managed, the non-UK queue seemed to be getting priority over the UK families queue, which even as a member of the Tofu-eating wokerati really really annoyed me.
Going back through, security had no queues, but it was August. I know it gets busier later in the year with business passengers but security is efficient there because City is full of very frequent fliers who know what they’re doing.
As for seating, I normally get a coffee from the Caffè Nero kiosk then go and sit down the bottom by the low numbered gates. Usually pretty quiet with a good view of the apron. The main seating area by duty free is usually busy.
nlogax
Established Member
Unless you're spending an inordinate amount of time at LCY on a layover it's really not so bad, though personally I'm mostly using it for domestic flights so don't have the passport queues to worry about. From a departures perspective it really doesn't merit a lounge with its short check-in times, quick security and ease of getting there from the parts of London it mostly serves.
If I do have a couple of hours to kill it's nice to find an empty gate along the main corridor and sit with a coffee watching the planes as most of those gates face onto the apron. Pretty similar to @Tetchytyke! It really is more Euston or Kings Cross but with a view.
If I do have a couple of hours to kill it's nice to find an empty gate along the main corridor and sit with a coffee watching the planes as most of those gates face onto the apron. Pretty similar to @Tetchytyke! It really is more Euston or Kings Cross but with a view.
30-45 minutes is advisable by me as I regularly fly from there - but bag drop closes 20-25 minutes before departure
The official recommended time is 20 minutes if you already have a boarding pass, however l do not believe you will be denied access after this time. The only real restriction is that you must be at the gate before it closes 15 minutes before time.
This contrasts with Terminal 5 at Heathrow where you must enter security 35 minutes beforehand.
BananaRepublic
Member
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The LCY terminal expansion plan was paused during the pandemic.
The large apron expansion and parallel taxiway link to the end of R/W 27, was already under construction at the time and was completed, but the brakes were put on the terminal development plan, due to the uncertainty about air travel, at the time.
IIRC, those plans saw much of the passenger facilities being relocated into the new building, with a large part of the existing terminal’s passenger areas, being converted to office space and service infrastructure.
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The most pertinent images in the document possibly being the before and after layouts:
Before:
After:
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