London City Airport

tinahodgkinson

04 Aug 2024

Wonderful experience, small and very accessible airport

5

5

Date of visit: August 2024

I have experience of challenges around: moving around

Overall Rating

Excellent

London City Airport is the smallest and most central airport in London, located in the Docklands, East London. It flies to about 30 European destinations. This was my first time travelling from and to and I was delighted at how accessible and easy it was due to its compact size. It was also my first time going abroad/ flying in 4 years as I had shielded during covid and was nervous about flying again, and it turned out to be a really good choice. I loved it, as it took a lot of stress out of flying compared to larger airports.

Disabled Access In and Around

Excellent

I had pre-booked special assistance. OUTWARD JOURNEY The airport is step free. The entrance doors are wide and automatic. The special assistance desk is immediately to your left when you enter. There is no seating there. The check in desks are immediately to your right. Before security, there is a small special assistance waiting area, and a larger one after security. I boarded the plane using the Ambulift. I boarded from the rear of the plane (I am not sure if this is just BA or all planes flying from City). RETURN JOURNEY I disembarked using the Ambulift and taken straight through the airport quickly by special assistance to the DLR station.

Parking & Transport

Excellent

On the way there I took a taxi and it stopped in a taxi dropping off bay close to the entrance. I just then crossed the road and I was at the airport. It was very easy. On my return trip, I took the DLR back into central London. There is an indoor passageway from the airport direct to London City Airport DLR station, which is a step free station. From there I travelled to Bank and changed lines. If you are travelling from Central London, you need to get a DLR train that goes to Woolwich Arsenal. The journey time to Bank was about 20 minutes. I found this an easy journey to do, but I was travelling back in the evening after the rush hour.

Accessible Toilets

Excellent

I used the accessible toilet after security. The room was long and rectangular, not sure if its wide enough to comfortably manoeuvre a powerchair. There were plenty of grab rails and the emergency cord was towards the floor. There was also a drop down baby changing facility. The toilet was clean, tidy and well maintained.

Staff

Excellent

Staff were excellent, very friendly, helpful and special assistance was quick. At the initial desk they gave me directions of where to sit to wait for assistance. It was easy to find as airport is small, and within a couple of minutes arriving a member of staff arrived to take me through security. When it was time to board, I was taken by lift downstairs to the runway area where I boarded the Ambulift. Staff were also quick to disembark me from the plane using the Ambulift. They quickly got me through baggage collection and to the DLR station.

Additional Information

This is a wonderful airport to use if you are wanting to fly to the major European cities from London. It was so manageable and I will definitely use the airport again. Highly recommend.