London City Airport has unveiled plans for a £200million expansion that will allow it to accommodate 50,000 extra flights every year.

Although the airport already has permission, granted in 2009, to increase flights it needs Newham Council’s approval to expand its current infrastructure to accommodate them. The extra flights will allow the airport to double its passenger numbers (to six million) over the next ten years, while continuing to attract inward investment into east London and acting as a catalyst for the regeneration of the area.

The £200milion expansion planned for the Silvertown airport includes new aeroplane parking stands to accommodate larger aircraft, a parallel taxi lane to optimise runway capacity during its busiest hours and a terminal extension.

It is not proposing a second runway, or any extension to the existing runway.

Declan Collier, Chief Executive Officer, London City Airport, believes the expansion of the airport is vital – not just to satisfy growing demand for business travel, but also for the ongoing development of the Royal Docks and east London.

He said: “The airport currently employs just under 2,100 people, of which more than 60 per cent are local. The proposed development has the potential to create as many as 1,500 new jobs, providing further employment in east London.

“Increasingly, this area (the Royal Docks) is a focus for foreign investment – the recent announcement by Advanced Business Park of its intention to build a multi-billion pound business park on Royal Albert Dock is one such example – and the connectivity to business centres across Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East that the airport provides, or will provide in the future, is central to this continuing.

“In terms of the wider UK economy, the airport already contributes £750million every year - through business and leisure tourist spend, the operation of businesses on site, productivity savings and air passenger duty – and when this project is completed, we can expect to double that amount.“