London City Airport Reviews 

Grumpy staff throughout. No idea why. Poor management?

London City Airport used to be great but it is now like your favourite sport star who’s become fat and lazy but can still show flashes of brilliance…
Security can be excellent (no need to take anything out of your bag) but the rest is a joke:
* It is a permanent construction site so hardly any seating, or shops to peruse, while your flight is inevitably delayed.
* It used to be aimed at business travellers but now there is no business class lounge and nowhere to plug in a laptop if you need to work.
* The airport, especially the toilets, is dirty.
* Flights from City are usually substantially more expensive

Don’t bother, in other words

This small airport has grown in capacity over many years.
It has become more for leisure than its mostly business passengers, with major European cities, to more holiday destinations with British Airways.
Klm, Swiss, Lufthansa are the main other Airlines.
More infrastructure has expanded the facilities during Covid.
So it really appears to be at times, full capacity for what it can provide.
Gates have been added, a taxiway which was not there and aircraft had to race down the mid runway and turn round to take off.
It is owned by an Abhu Dhabi consortium.
Arriving, you can land, walk off you aircraft, and clear Immigration quickly with a passport that fits e- gates within 10 mins- 30 mins if you have luggage.
This is far less stressful than LHR or other regional airports.
Departing is mostly Mon- Fri mornings and 4pm through until about 8pm for most flights. Saturday it closes around 2pm until 1pm onSu days!
They want to change this though.
Check in areas remain unexpanded.
So there can be queues, but departing you need to be there latest 1 hr before departure to be sure.
Aircraft can board from 25 mins before, ready to take off on time.

The whole airport only works with short turn around of Aircraft, 30- 40 mins with KLM, Swiss, Lufthansa more so than BA.so a continous quick flow in and out is vital.
Space after a maximised and limited few lanes of Security, not yet fully fitted with " no taking items out of your bag" like in Amsterdam, let it down and slow the process for departing passengers.
Car parking is extortionate, £48 per 24hrs, but lower a
prebooking in advance essential, often the car park can be full.
I do not know how they calculate this, as no car seems to be turned away!
DLR connects through Canning Town route, driving is off the A12 or North Circular.
So it is not easy to get too.
It is near to Excel, opposite side a little further along.

It is a great airport to leave to the main European Cities, and connect with hubs with Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM Dutch Airlines, to travel on long haul.
This will save UK Heavy Departure taxes whatever class you travel, often saving up to 40% off your long haul price directly from LHR!

With more leisure travellers, the airport needs to change the wasted space of the often empty expensive 2 restaurants, and provide more general space for departures.
Level good healthy food, as many do not stay in tge airport long.
They have 2 Pret sandwich stores one airside with a cafe Nero. A WH Smith mini store in departures and the check in / arrivals Hall.
The other Pret is just outside arrivals exit, in the check in area.
Much work continues on the very sparse space still available, as it is jammed in with local housing and large industrials surrounding.
The runway is short, bridges before and after each end of the 1 runway.
This means rapid descent and ascent take offs.
With its change in custom, the owners need to move with the times and reuse the highly rare space better.
It is reaching capacity already, and and delay in the whoke processes, can halt the whole place.

They need to do better.
Toilets, baggage areas, arrivals facilities, and change departures some to more useful vendors.
But it's a prize airport once discovered, just to Europe, or connect through a hib Worldwide.
You won't ever want to go out via LHR again!

It can get v busy

Green Motion Car Rental London City Airport.The service was appalling and quite definatley the worst I have ever experienced . The employee was rude, unhelpful , did not even bother to show me the car or how anything worked. Do not ever book a car through this office.

I asked the check-in girl to have an aisle seat. She smiled and gave me the ticket only to realise on board that I have a window seat.
Such a useless service.
It’s a horrible place to fly from.
Service is zero!!!

I would like to say a HUGE heart-felt thank you - to Kelly & Steve -who work for Swiss International Air Lines, at London City Airport.
I was very appreciative for all their help when I travelled back from London City to Geneva, along with a very special & treasured family heir-loom, a framed portrait-painting... of Geraldine!
May I also take this opportunity in thanking the Pilot for welcoming Geraldine onboard and for giving her the finest of seat's on the flight!
It was a superb First Class Customer Service, and one that won't be forgotten. Thank you!

I flew out business class on Swiss on 26th July 2022, departure 08.00. The entire experience at LCY was terrible. The place is grossly inadequate for the number of customers. Staff are inadequate in number, distracted, overworked, and sometimes surly. Checkin was very inefficient, taking around 10 minutes per customer. The line for security screening took about 40 minutes. Security screening staff were rude to me. It was difficult to find a place to sit. Nevertheless, i understand that LCY is in fact far better than LHR and LGW and STN and LUT. But LCY is still abominable. These problems are really not at all the fault of the staff, these problems are caused by poor quality management combined with the consequences of covid policy lunacy. My advice is: flying out of LCY is in fact the best of a bad lot, and please try not to fly out early in the day when it’s horribly inadequate.

Security body searchers. Over zealous rough totally over the top. Was left feeling humiliated violated and abused. She was very invasive and very physical.I wasn’t wearing anything that was heavy or baggy and her hands were repeatedly everywhere disgusting. It was the worst body search I had ever experienced. At one stage I asked her to stop.
On entering the airport I spoke with a very nice Man wearing a light blue vest as I have compromised mobility he went to find a wheelchair. I had booked assistance but B A’s system was playing up. The nice gentleman spoke to a lady colleague wearing the same blue vest she spoke to me as though I was simple. Talked over me and demanded to know why I wasn’t there any earlier very unpleasant. Not a great experience

Having left my iPad on board an aircraft I thought I would call LCA to get in touch with lost property. I called the airport and after listening to the options on the recorded message, one of my choices cut off immediately after pressing it. The other just didn’t answer All Day! So I thought I would select the operator this too never answered so I got absolutely nowhere!! Very frustrating.

After arriving back at London City Airport with LOT airlines from a week away we waited 35 minutes after everyone had left the aircraft for someone to come and assist my wife off the plane with a wheelchair. This in spite of prearrangement for special assistance booked in advance. When the transport lift truck finally did arrive we were informed we still couldn’t get off the aircraft because the driver needed some other member of staff to help him!? Unbelievable! Very poor show.

From train to airport lounge in about 10 minutes. Great, helpful staff, quiet airport and plenty of refreshment places with no queues.

They put an airport in one of the poorest boroughs because we don't matter. They lie, they fail to inform locals about their expansion... they have made living anywhere near here a living hell. A foreign owned airport that does nothing but fly pointless flights. They are absolute cancer.

Quickest check in ever !!!!!
BA check in staff beyond brilliant
Try the epic breakfast at pilots bar and kitchen