London City Airport aims to allow Airbus A320neo flights by January 2027

London City Airport (LCY), which has officially launched a consultation to add the Airbus A320neo to its fleet, aims to gain approval from the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the change by January 2027 at the earliest.

In a consultation process that LCY launched on March 2, 2026, the airport outlined its aim to obtain approval for a shallower descent angle on both runways, enabling the A320neo to land at LCY.

The airport detailed that the proposed airspace change would not affect the approach and/or departure paths of aircraft at LCY and would only change the types of aircraft that could fly to and from the airport.

It estimates that, if approved, LCY would have 76,500 fewer flights over the long term but could handle 14 million additional passengers due to the A320neo’s larger capacity.

Currently, the largest aircraft able to land at LCY is the Embraer E195-E2, which has a maximum seating capacity of 146 passengers. The A320neo’s exit limit is 194 travelers.

LCY argued that the approval would allow the airport to “move faster towards our planning limit of 9 million passengers per year, increasing the business and leisure opportunities for the city and benefiting economic growth.”

“If the project proceeds as planned, our application is successful, and the airspace regulator (CAA) decides to approve, the change would take place in January 2027 at the earliest.”

LCY announced that it has submitted an application that would enable the A320neo to land at the airport in January 2025. At the time, the then-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LCY, Alison FitzGerald, said that the approval for A320neos to operate at the airport would “enable growth without increasing the number of flight movements, deliver much-needed economic growth, and accelerate refleeting to cleaner, quieter, new-generation aircraft.”

Cirium’s Diio Mi shows that, for example, in February, the most popular aircraft at the airport is the E190, accounting for 341 of 450 weekly flights. The only next-generation aircraft flying from LCY are the A220-100, E190-E2, and E195-E2, collectively accounting for 63 weekly flights during the month.