Earlier this year, Scotland House opened near Blackfriars station in London – an Innovation and Investment Hub for Scottish businesses. It’s aimed at helping ambitious Scottish companies take advantage of business opportunities in London and internationally. The hub provides a base to build new partnerships and a low cost place to trade in London, a hugely important trading market.
The Brexit negotiations may be creating uncertainty in the market place, but one unwavering constant is the status of London as a meeting place for the world’s business leaders, and a stage for businesses large and small to set out their stall.
London City Airport (LCY) has been helping Scottish businesses reach this market for over 20 years, beginning with the Edinburgh route in 1996 followed by the Glasgow air link in 2007. Both are now in the top ten most popular routes for London City, out of nearly 50 destinations, with Edinburgh the second busiest route for the airport, served by Flybe and British Airways. As the airport celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it’s an opportunity to reflect on Scottish connectivity which has been one of the pillars to LCY’s success.
The airport’s proximity to central London (indeed, LCY is the closest airport to Scotland House, just 38 minutes on DLR and Tube), premier customer experience and short check in and arrival times, differentiates the airport and makes it the best choice for Scottish business travellers. Furthermore, as pace gathers towards the start of a £400 million development programme, which includes an extended passenger terminal, parallel taxiway to maximise runway capacity, and seven new aircraft stands, the role of LCY in attracting visitors and investment to Scotland is set to increase, combined with a real opportunity to grow the Scottish route network.
Super commuter and business day tripper alike can expect a strengthening of ties between London City Airport and its connections north of the border as it commences its next chapter.
