![]() Our September was actually stronger than August. “I think what was interesting for us, though,” remembers the CCO, “the leisure peak going through June, July, August, and then they fall away in September. However, and contrary to many common expectations, traffic trends witnessed a surprisingly bright light on the horizon – business travel. It began to seem like there would be no end in sight. However, 2020 was the year of ups and downs, and as infection cases spiked once again, demand began to crumble. “In fact,” he continued, “demand was so strong that, for example, bookings to Ibiza, one of the airport’s most popular leisure destinations, were roughly the same as they were in 2019. “I must say it surpassed all of our expectations at that point and demand was very strong.” According to the CCO, at that point almost all air travel was leisure-oriented. “Once we restarted operations in early-July, there was a very strong positive uptick of traffic,” said Hill. “The difference in our operations during that period was that we had some Royal Air Force (RAF) test flights or helicopters coming in to model what it would be like if they were bringing people, or equipment into the nearby NHS Nightingale hospital.” The hospital was part of NHS London’s response to the rapidly growing pandemic and opened its doors at the ExCel London Convention Centre in April of 2020. However, unlike many of its contemporaries, LCY remained open for some customers, explains Liam McKay, the airport’s Director of Corporate Affairs (DCA). In a move being duplicated right around the world, the airport had to cease commercial operations from late-March until mid-June. ![]() From March 2020, the rest became history.” We could see that everything was pointing towards growth during January and February. ![]() “It was a very strong year for the airport and we were going into 2020 looking to grow on that further. In an exclusive interview for AeroTime News, LCY Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Richard Hill, buoyed by the record-breaking achievements of 2019 had this to say.
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