London City Airport (LCY) has named Alison FitzGerald its new CEO, effective immediately.
FitzGerald has been LCY’s COO since 2016. She succeeds Robert Sinclair, who departed from the top spot at LCY in November 2023 to become CEO of rail line HS1.
Since January, FitzGerald and LCY CFO Wilma Allan had been serving temporarily as co-CEOs of the airport. FitzGerald joined LCY in 2014 as chief information officer.
“Alison’s key priorities will include continuing to grow the business by working with new and existing airlines to offer new destinations to passengers,” LCY said in a statement. The airport currently offers more than 30 routes to destinations in the UK and Europe.
FitzGerald takes the helm at LCY as the airport attempts to gain approval for more flexible operating hours, particularly on Saturdays, as a way to increase capacity. The operating hours at LCY, which is located close to central London, are limited because of noise concerns.
LCY wants to increase its annual passenger cap from 6.5 million to 9 million. LCY handled around 4 million passengers in 2023, putting the airport on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels of 5 million in 2024. At the current growth pace, the airport could reach its existing 6.5 million passenger cap by the mid-2020s, hitting 9 million passengers by 2031.
But Newham Council—the local authority for London City Airport—in July 2023 unanimously voted down the airport’s proposal to increase its passenger cap and extend operating hours. LCY has appealed the ruling to regional governance body Greater London Authority.
The airport would like to increase passenger numbers with additional early-morning movements on weekdays, allowing for nine flights between 6:30 a.m. and 6:59 a.m., instead of six. Under the airport’s proposal, LCY would be allowed to operate flights on Saturday afternoons and early evenings, which the airport maintains could account for a significant amount of additional capacity. The airport currently cuts off flights at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and restarts service at 12:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Under LCY’s proposal, Saturday flight operating hours would be extended to 6:30 p.m. most of the year and to 7:30 p.m. during the summer months. On weekdays, LCY allows no overnight takeoffs or landings, with the airport closed to flights from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sunday flight operating hours would remain 12:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. as is currently the case.
LCY is open during weekdays between 4:45 a.m. and 10 p.m., Saturdays between 4:45 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Sundays between 10:45 a.m. and 10 p.m.
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