London City Airport year could be absorbed by other airports which are currently under capacity. However, this plan was proposed when London City Airport was for sale. In February 2016 the airport was bought by a Canadian-led consortium, making redevelopment less likely. Additionally, the political weight behind air space in the south east would make it less likely still, with the government having approved the controversial expansion of Heathrow Airport, including the third runway. Owing to its proximity to London's Docklands and financial district its main users are business travellers, but the number of leisure destinations served (like Palma de Mallorca, Malaga or
London City Airport May 1987, with the first commercial services operating from 26 October 1987. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened London City Airport in November of the same year. In 1988, the first full year of operation, the airport handled 133,000 passengers. The earliest scheduled flights were operated to and from Plymouth, Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. With a runway of only in length, and a slope of the glidepath of 7.5° (for noise abatement reasons), the airport could only be used by a very limited number of aircraft types, principally the Dash 7 and the smaller Dornier Do 228. In 1989 the airport