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Can City Airport’s success be repeated in Southend?
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| Booming - London City Airport has grown from serving 133,000 passengers in 1987 to 2.9 million last year |
SOUTHEND Airport could return to its bustling heyday of the 1970s, following an estimated £100million bid by London City Airport.
Bosses at the Docklands-based airport hope to model Southend on their own success, which has seen it expand from a small regional airport to one serving millions of passengers a year and providing 80,000 flights from 11 airlines flying to 33 destinations.
For Southend, this could mean a huge cash injection for new roads and a railway station to make it easier for passengers to catch their flights without getting stuck on the A127. It could also provide in the region of 3,000 jobs.
London City is now edging towards the takeover after it gained the financial muscle of insurer AIG as part of a consortium of investors.
Richard Gooding, chief executive of London City Airport, is proud of its rapid expansion, which saw its January passenger numbers up by 25 per cent on the previous year.
He declined to talk about plans for Southend Airport, as there are currently seven bids as part of the buyout, but he did speak about the rapid growth of City Airport which now has 45 employers with 2,000 workers.
It is this sort of growth that some hope to see replicated in Southend.
Mr Gooding said: "It is exciting to see how in only 20 years, London City Airport has grown from a small regional airport serving almost 133,000 passengers in its first full year of trading, to a staggering 2.9 million passengers in 2007.
"More and more business travellers are recognising the benefits of London City Airport as it is located on the doorstep of the City and Canary Wharf.
"This accolade strengthens our position in the business of travel."
The airport opened in 1987 and was bought for £23.5million by Dermot Desmond in 1995, who put it up for sale a year later.
It was then snapped up for an estimated £750million in October, 2006, by a consortium including AIG Financial Products Corp and Global Infrastructure Partners, from then on it has become popular with business passengers.
With the 2012 London Olympics approaching, the airport wants to expand and is eyeing up Southend as a secondary base for flights to the City. It would be an ideal location as the airports are less than an hour away from each other.
It is hoped Southend will be able to return to the success of the 1970s, when it ran regular scheduled and charter flights to Europe and the Channel Islands.
Helping the community
London City Airport says it is proud of its track record of working with staff and residents. Initiatives include:
Providing free fruit and veg to staff to encourage a healthy lifestyle
An annual airport fun day, including airshow, which attracts 15,000 people
Projects with Eastside Young Leaders' Academy, a community group which provides educational and emotional support for African and Caribbean boys aged from eight to 18
An annual art awards for professional and amateur artists and photographers who live within the vicinity of the airport
Fundraising efforts for Richard House Children's Hospice based in East London.
1:49am Friday 9th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: paul, leigh on 3:11pm Fri 9 May 08
AIG announced Q1 losses last night of $7.8bn and it has to raise $12.5bn from shareholders. Might make them think again about this investment!!
AIG announced Q1 losses last night of $7.8bn and it has to raise $12.5bn from shareholders. Might make them think again about this investment!!
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