London City Airport (LCY) is not just an international business when it comes to operating airlines, but one of the most diverse workplaces in the UK, with a truly international workforce employing staff from 28 different nationalities, the airport has said.
It claims that the diverse workforce helps to strengthen its international business.
More than 2,000 people work at LCY, with over 500 directly employed by the airport. The staff includes nationals from all over Europe such as France, Spain, Italy and The Netherlands, as well as people from as far as Australia, Barbados, Brazil, South Africa and Uganda.
The most represented countries outside of the UK are Ireland, Portugal and Poland, followed by Nigeria, France, Germany, India and Lithuania.
Declan Collier, CEO of London City Airport, said: ‘Having an international workforce truly strengthens the business. Our workforce reflects the international make-up of the local area and the international make-up of our business, currently serving more than 40 destinations across Europe.
With passengers of many different nationalities travelling through our airport every day, the most obvious advantage is having foreign language speakers on-site to provide assistance. Our international employees also bring local knowledge of overseas markets, which can benefit both passengers travelling overseas and our business strategy more widely.’
Even so, London City Airport focuses on recruiting locally – 27 per cent of current employees are from the London Borough of Newham and 61 per cent live within five miles of the airport, it said.
The airport’s ‘Take Off Into Work’ scheme provides skills training and work experience for local adults, and has helped over 300 people get back into work since 2009.
Serving around 3.4 million passengers with 70,000 movements annually, LCY celebrated 26 years of operation in 2013. The airport has permission to increase its operation to 120,000 movements per annum, carrying six million passengers, which it plans to do by 2023.
LCY’s proposed City Airport Development Plan, which includes seven new stands, a parallel taxiway, a western extension to the existing terminal, and a new arrivals building, is expected to create 1,500 new full-time jobs by 2023 – bringing the total workforce to in excess of 3,500.
