London City Airport is celebrating the return of services to Madrid after British Airways Cityflyer relaunched its route to the Spanish capital on Monday, 1st December.
British Airways Cityflyer is now operating an 11-times-per-week service from London City, the capital’s most centrally located airport, to one of Europe’s most vibrant cities.
To mark the first departure, passengers were treated to a distinctly Madrid-inspired send-off. A Spanish guitarist performed traditional chotis music at the gate, while José Pizarro and his culinary team served complimentary favourites including Tortilla Pintxos and Tarta de Santiago.
Alison FitzGerald, CEO at London City Airport, said: “Madrid is a destination our passengers consistently tell us they love, so we’re delighted to have worked with our long-standing partner, British Airways Cityflyer, to bring the route back to London City.
“Restoring this connection further strengthens our global reach, offering travellers even more choice through key European hubs, all with competitive fares and the convenience we’re known for.”
Ian Romanis, Managing Director of British Airways Cityflyer, said: “We’re delighted to launch this exciting addition to our network, offering customers more opportunities to experience everything Madrid is celebrated for, from its rich culture and history to its world-class cuisine.
“What makes this route launch particularly special is that the schedule has been designed to make it easy for customers to take advantage of seamless onward connections to Central and South America through our sister airline, Iberia – giving both business and leisure travellers more choice to explore Spain and further afield.”
This winter, British Airways also resumed partial winter services to Innsbruck ahead of the Christmas holidays and brought back popular ski connections to Geneva and Chambery – perfect for those seeking alpine adventurers. Passengers can also reach ski destinations via routes to Milan and Zurich. For getaways to warmer climates, year-round services to San Sebastian and Ibiza remain available, while demand for festive travel to Dublin and Rome continues to surge.
London City Airport continues to be recognised for its customer experience, having been named the UK’s Best Airport by Condé Nast Traveller readers, as well as London’s Best Airport by Which? and The Daily Telegraph. With journeys from terminal to gate possible in as little as 10 minutes and two-thirds of passengers arriving by DLR, London City remains the quickest, easiest and best-connected airport in the capital.
Leisure travel now accounts for 60% of the airport’s traffic and this is set to grow even further. In January, London City submitted an Airspace Change Proposal to the Civil Aviation Authority to enable operations of the Airbus A320neo. This will broaden the range of leisure destinations and support passenger growth without increasing flight movements.
