By Lisa James, published 24/06/20
Flights have resumed at London City Airport, with BA CityFlyer now operating and KLM preparing to restart next month.
The first flight into the airport since Covid-19 forced operations to be suspended at the end of March was BA3287, which landed on June 21 from Douglas, Isle of Man.
The return flight, BA3288, left London City at 18:40, signifying the restart of a daily service between London and the island.
The airline will also be recommencing domestic flights to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.
BA will resume Florence, Malaga, Ibiza and Palma flights this summer.
KLM will resume operations to Amsterdam Schiphol on July 13. The route will begin as a single daily service, with frequency increases expected as demand for travel returns. Passengers will be able to connect to over 100 European and intercontinental destinations via Schiphol.
London City Airport CEO Robert Sinclair, said: “We believe there is demand from passengers to get back to flying and we have worked hard to make that possible – putting in place appropriate measures to make the airport safe and working closely with airlines to restore some popular routes and important connections.”
During the period that commercial operations were suspended, the airport was busy creating a safe environment for passengers and staff, including rapid contact-free temperature checking technology, crowd monitoring technology, an enhanced cleaning regime using an anti-microbial surface treatment, and social distancing procedures such as one-way systems and Perspex screens. Passengers will also be asked to wear face coverings in the airport.
Despite the changes, the airport says it has been careful not to sacrifice its speed and convenience.
A recent survey of over 4,700 customers found 41% of London City’s flyers anticipate they will take a flight for business within the next three months.
