London City flights return in sign of pickup in banking trips

London City Airport, a favorite of regional business travelers, is seeing a tentative reawakening as British Airways and Lufthansa restore flights to key financial centers. Services to Zurich, Frankfurt and Rotterdam are resuming this month, the airport’s COO Alison FitzGerald said. “We’re seeing some early signs of good load factors, some early bookings,” FitzGerald said. “Hopefully frequencies will also increase.” The number of flights from London City is set to increase more than 70% during September to about 260 per week by month’s end, based on data from Bloomberg NEF. Still, traffic remains about 80% below 2019 levels, according to FitzGerald. The airport, which offers easy access to the City of London and Canary Wharf financial districts, is almost wholly focused on short flights because its truncated runway is limited to smaller aircraft. It has relied on leisure journeys that resumed earlier in the summer season when Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns eased, FitzGerald said. While demand for business travel in the aftermath of the pandemic remains uncertain, FitzGerald said executives are seeking out face-to-face meetings with clients, and more customers will combine business and leisure trips made possible by flexible working patterns.<br/>