18 November 2010
A new study from York Aviation, an air transport and airport economic impact assessment consultancy, has reported that London City Airport (LCY) directly contributes £0.5 billion to the economy each year.

This figure includes:

  • £197 million spent by business tourists coming via LCY;
  • £115 million spent by leisure tourists coming via LCY;
  • £71 million from productivity benefits delivered through journey time savings by using LCY;
  • £21 million in Air Passenger Duty (APD); and
  • £100 million through operations and businesses at LCY that also support over 2,700 jobs.

Alongside this the study demonstrates that LCY’s role in facilitating wider economic growth could support as much as an additional £944 million of GDP.

SASIG comment:
These headline figures suggest that York Aviation has made an inadequate assessment by not having taken account of the costs integral to the creation of the reported benefits, such as the negative community and associated impacts – air quality, noise, congestion, infrastructure requirements, etc. Neither do these headline figures illustrate losses to the UK economy from business and leisure travellers leaving the UK.

http://www.londoncityairport.com/AboutUs/ViewRelease.aspx?id=1248