London City Airport expands network with Madrid route and new leisure flights

London City Airport (LCY), the airport located closest to the center of the city at just six miles (10km), has announced that it is gearing up for its busiest winter season in its history. From December 2025, there will be regular flights to the Spanish capital Madrid, while other winter sun and ski flights will also be included in the airport’s schedule.

British Airways CityFlyer, a subsidiary of the UK flag carrier, has said it will launch a new 11-times-per-week service to Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) starting on December 1, 2025. All flights on the new route will be operated by the carrier’s 20-strong fleet of Embraer E190 regional jets. Each example accommodates 106 passengers in a single-class layout.

Markus Mainka / ShutterstockIn addition to the Madrid flights, British Airways will also resume winter services to Innsbruck, which will operate during the winter peak. The route, which is just 587 miles (939km), will also be operated by the Embraer jets.   

Alongside services to Madrid and Innsbruck, the airport says that demand for winter flights to popular skiing destinations remains strong. As a result, services to Geneva (GVA) in Switzerland and Chambery (CMF) in France return for the winter ski season. Additionally, an airport statement added that London City passengers can also reach ski destinations via the airport’s regular scheduled services to Milan (via BA CityFlyer or ITA Airways) and Zurich, served by SWISS.

GCMap.comNew winter sun flights

For travelers seeking winter sun breaks, the airport said that its regular services to San Sebastian and Ibiza will continue throughout the winter season, as will its usual flights to Dublin (DUB) and Rome (FCO), which the airport said are seeing high demand, particularly over the Christmas holiday period.

“We’re excited to expand our winter schedule with British Airways, offering even more options for passengers seeking city escapes, ski adventures, or winter sun,” said Andrew Hodges, Chief Commercial Officer at London City Airport. “The launch of Madrid and the return of popular ski routes are a clear response to growing demand for leisure travel from London City.”

“With existing capacity available, we’re actively in discussions with both new and existing airlines to broaden our network and unlock more destinations for our passengers,” he added.

London City AirportNew online marketing campaign

To support its airline partners and spotlight new destinations like Madrid, London City said it had launched a targeted winter campaign through channels including Skyscanner, Google, Meta, and other digital platforms to promote the new flights. The initiative aims to generate additional traffic interest and inspire spontaneous getaways, said an airport spokesperson.

Having originally started life in 1987 as a business travel-focused airport, leisure travel now accounts for 60% of the airport’s traffic, and this is set to grow even further, advised the airport.

In January 2025, London City Airport submitted an Airspace Change Proposal to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to enable operations of the Airbus A320neo at the airport for the first time. The ability of airlines to operate into the airport with such large jets would “broaden the range of leisure destinations and support passenger growth without increasing flight movements,” said the airport.

The airport currently has ten airlines operating a total of 30 business and leisure routes and is actively seeking more carriers to join that list, as it currently has spare capacity. Additionally, the airport was named as London’s Best Airport by a poll conducted by the Which? consumer organization, placing it ahead of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton.

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