Embraer has received Steep Approach Certification for the E195-E2 at London City Airport (LCY).

The airport, situated around 5nm/9.6km east of the UK capital’s city center, has high buildings in the Canary Wharf financial district immediately to the west of the airport. To clear these, aircraft approaching the single 1,500m runway from the west must adopt a 5.5° descent, compared to the more normal 3°.

The E195-E2, which has now received EASA certification for the steep approach, will be the largest aircraft able to operate from LCY. The smaller E190-E2 received LCY certification in 2021.

The airport has the highest proportion of crossover jet operations in the world, with 94% of rotations involving either the Embraer E-Jet family or the Airbus A220.

Existing Embraer operators at LCY include BA CityFlyer, KLM CityHopper, Lufthansa and LOT and account for some 85% of all movements there, according to Embraer. Other types operating into LCY are the Airbus A220, e Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 and the ATR 42-600.

Embraer said Nov 10 that the E195-E2’s noise footprint at take-off is around 60% smaller than current jets using LCY. There have been complaints from residents in nearby districts in recent years over growing noise nuisance as operations at LCY steadily increase.

Flight frequency plummeted during the pandemic but is now rising again. The airport handled a fraction under 3 million passengers in 2022, still considerably short of the record 5.1 million recorded in 2019.

The E195-E2 first landed at the airport in July 2022 on a proving flight and “The certification of the E195-E2 signifies an exciting new era for London City Airport,” LCY’s COO, Alison FitzGerald, said. 

“With its capacity to handle more passengers while being significantly quieter and more fuel efficient…we eagerly anticipate our airlines starting commercial operations of the E195-E2 at LCY."