New analysis of Civil Aviation Authority postcode data by London City Airport has found that 143,000 departing passengers used the airport who live within a three-mile radius last year.

This is a 22 per cent increase from the 117,000 passengers recorded in 2017.

When residents are combined with departing passengers that were visiting or working in the local area, the number of passengers in a three-mile radius totalled 547,227 in 2018.

This is more than 11 per cent of the total passengers using the airport last year.

Journeys originating in four east London boroughs nearby also saw a marked increase.

Residents, local business workers, and tourists starting their journey in Barking and Dagenham grew by the highest margin year-on-year, up 75 per cent, alongside Greenwich (up 34 per cent) and Hackney (up seven per cent).

In the airport’s home borough, Newham, passengers increased ten per cent year-on-year, representative of 350,000 passengers.

Robert Sinclair, chief executive of London City Airport, said: “While the airport remains the firm favourite for business travellers across London, it’s clear from this new analysis that more and more local people are taking advantage of our extensive network of destinations, and the convenience of their home airport.”

“The ‘fly local’ trend is good for passengers and we look forward to continuing to share the benefits of our growth with the community, not just in terms of job creation and educational and charitable contributions, but increasingly as an airport they can use for holidays and business trips.”

A new video released today, introduces some of the local people choosing London City as their gateway for trips abroad, with destinations including Split, Rotterdam and Ibiza.

The airport has added Prague, Budapest, Vilnius and Antwerp to its route map this year.

The rise in local passengers reflects an ongoing trend around London City Airport, in the heart of East London, which is home to one of the fastest-growing populations in the UK - outstripping anywhere else in the city in terms of growth in jobs, homes and office space.

See the new video from London City Airport below:

More Information

Breaking Travel News spoke to London City Airport chief executive, Robert Sinclair, earlier this month to discover how important links to the community are for the aviation hotspot.

See what he had to say here.