London City Airport serving the London area—after Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton—and was the 14th-busiest in the UK in 2017. The airport was first proposed in 1981 by Reg Ward, who was Chief Executive of the newly formed London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) that was responsible for the regeneration of the area. He in turn discussed the proposal with Sir Philip Beck (Chairman of John Mowlem & Co plc) and the idea of an airport for Docklands was born. By November of that year Mowlem and Bill Bryce of Brymon Airways had submitted an outline proposal to the LDDC for a Docklands STOLport
London Southend Airport adjacent to the airport entrance opened on 1 October 2012; owned by the Stobart Group it has the only rooftop restaurant in Essex. London Southend has been voted the best airport in Britain for three consecutive years by consumer group "Which?" in August 2013, August 2014, and again in September 2015. Southend Airport handles mainly scheduled passenger, charter, cargo and business flights, with some pilot training (both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter) and private aircraft flying. The airport is run by London Southend Airport Co Ltd, which employs over 150 people directly. Due to expansion, there were over 500 more people