London City Airport weighs legal challenge to weekend flight block

London City Airport is weighing up a legal challenge over Angela Rayner’s decision to block expanding services at weekends.
Bosses at the airport and its lawyers are poring through the details of a 233-page decision to reject an extension of its closing time on Saturdays from 12.30pm to 6.30pm.
Options include a High Court challenge or launching a judicial review of the decision.
The housing secretary’s decision was a surprise as she also gave the green light to the lifting of London City’s annual passenger cap from 6.5 million to 9 million passengers. The airport is also allowed to fly three extra flights in the first half-hour of operations during the week.
The rejection of Saturday afternoon flying came as a bitter blow by effectively rendering the increased passenger cap unattainable, according to industry insiders.
London City was acquired for £2 billion by a Canadian consortium in 2016. Weekend expansion is said to have been pivotal to underpinning the shareholder group’s valuation of the business.
Despite the disappointment, bosses insisted they would press ahead with the building of a new £500 million terminal.
A spokesman for the airport said: “We remain committed to delivering our City Airport development programme, which includes the expansion of our existing terminal.
“This summer, London City completed major upgrades to its departure lounge following a significant investment to further improve the passenger experience.”