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Air travel and connectivity are critical to supporting regeneration and growth

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WH Ireland pursued a sale of both its wealth management and capital markets arms during the year.
WH Ireland pursued a sale of both its wealth management and capital markets arms during the year.
ROBERT SINCLAIR

CEO of London City Airport

It was around this time 36 years ago that the first commercial flight landed at London City Airport, and it’s fascinating to reflect not only on how far the airport has come during that time but to consider the sheer transformation around us in East London too.

Taking a trip back in time, the Docklands, once one of the busiest docks in the world and the UK’s global gateway to trade, experienced a slow economic decline from the 1960s onwards, and in the early 1980s saw commercial traffic to the docks halt. Soon after, plans for City Airport were submitted by the then-chief executive of the London Docklands Development Corporation, who believed an airport would bring growth and investment to an area on its knees.

Fast forward half a decade and the first commercial flight operated out of London City Airport around this time in 1987 – 36 years ago. During this same period, a number of other significant developments sprung up in the area, including London’s new financial centre with the Canary Wharf Development, a global business conference venue with the ExceL Centre, a new University of East London campus and thousands of new homes.

This was the start of a new era for East London and the regeneration of the Royal Docks. While the pandemic years brought everywhere to a standstill, I believe we are now at the start of another period of regeneration of the area. This was also signalled by the London Mayor relocating City Hall to the Royal Docks last year, noting that the economic centre of gravity in London is moving east. Today, the Royal Docks is London’s only Enterprise Zone – set to receive £8bn of investment over the next 20 years – and it’s evident that renewed confidence in the future of this area has been supported, in part, by the businesses and organisations who have invested in it over the years, bringing jobs and opportunities. 

You can’t do business development without feet on the ground

A special report by Savills last year highlighted a number of key growth sectors in the area, including Life Science & Biotechnology, Media & Technology, Financial Services & Fintech, and Games & eSports. Earlier this year, British Land unveiled plans for a 300,000-square-foot life sciences building in Canada Water – another signal of growth for the area. Likewise, it’s clear that domestic and international air travel will continue to play a critical role in supporting economic growth in the area and at a national level.

A recent survey of East London business leaders by consultancy WPI Economics emphasises just how important air travel is to their growth potential. One supply chain manager of a green energy firm explained how important face-to-face meetings were for the development of his company saying, “You can’t do business development without feet on the ground”. 

It is incomprehensible to think you can drive service businesses without going there to develop that business. When you consider the UK predominantly trades in services – accounting for 79% of total economic output in April–June this year – naturally the word ‘service’ brings an element of being face-to-face, and the importance of business relationships and the economic value that brings. 

Air travel supports this by connecting people, their businesses, products and services they offer around the globe. A company such as Excel, which runs around 400 events and attracts four million visitors every year, benefits enormously from the speed of connectivity from an airport which is less than 10 minutes from its door.

What is clear is that the aviation industry is key to the growth potential of a whole range of large businesses and SMEs, in London and across the UK. East London and the Docklands area have gone through many significant periods of change and regeneration, and the latest indication from many organisations signals a significant opportunity towards a prosperous future, and connectivity will be crucial to achieving this ambition.