The Impact of the London City Airport Expansion on the Surrounding Essay

The Impact of the London City Airport Expansion on the Surrounding Property Values - Essay Example It is the only Airport located just two miles from the site of the 2012 Olympic Games and three miles from Canary Wharf. As part of the expansion programme for it departure lounge, London City Airport spent  £30 million (US$60 million) for the construction of four new aircraft parking stands (Bonnassies, 2008). Basically, the said expansion project was eventually completed back in May 2008. Reg Ward, the Chief Executive of the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC), was the first person who developed strategic ways on how to increase the operational efficiency of the airport back in 1981 (London City Airport Consultative Committee, 2009). It was in 1987 when the London City Airport was granted for route licences from the CAA before it was officially opened. One year after the airport was opened to the public, LDDC managed to handle as much as 133,000 passengers within its first year of operation (London City Airport Consultative Committee, 2009). The runway of the airport was only 1,080 metres in length with a glide slope of 7.5 degrees. Due to the limited space, LDDC managed to serve only a few numbers of small-size aircraft. Back then, LDDC was offering its runway only to De Havilland Canada Dash 7 and the smaller Dornier Do 228 which are commonly used for passenger services, freight, and other surveillance and military purposes (London City Airport Consulta tive Committee, 2009b). To provide its service to larger aircraft types, LDDC decided to expand its runway in 1989. In 1990, LDDC was able to handle as much as 230,000 passengers (London City Airport Consultative Committee, 2009). However, the number of passengers significantly decreased after the incidence of the Gulf War. It was only until 1993 when the airport managed to increase the number of passengers up to 245,000 (London City Airport Consultative Committee, 2009). During the same year, LDDC’s extended