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A talk delivered to the Limmud Festival Tuesday 30^th December 2025 8pm Hilton Hotel NEC Birmingham

This version 27 December 2026

 LONDON CITY AIRPORT, CRUISING AND ISRAEL TOURISM

 A talk delivered to the Limmud Festival Tuesday 30th December 2025 8pm Hilton Hotel NEC Birmingham 

LONDON CITY AIRPORT, CRUISING AND ISRAEL TOURISM

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And see www.travelnewsupdate.co.uk

This is a strange combination.  

The Limmud organisers have limited me to just one session so I have combined London City Airport and cruising.   

But there is a link.  You can fly from LCY, that is the airline fraternity’s short code for London City Airport) to Barcelona, Europe’s largest cruise port.  And I am going to highlight one cruise company, based at Tilbury, who defies convention and refuses to offer a Jewish Sabbath facility on Friday nights. Kosher food can be booked in advance however.  As a cruise line it offers a fine four-star service.  I will not be returning until a Friday night facility is available.

And my final words will be on tourism and Israel.

Israel direct from LCY is some way off but easyJet is to restart flights from Luton in time for Passover, joining El Al, Wizz Air and Israir.  And there is always British Airways from Heathrow. 

And I will start by saying that if you are flying business class out of London City on British Airways you can have kosher food.  But order it well in advance.  And some news just in.  BA has just restarted flights to Madrid. 

As for my CV, you can find it by searching on the web for Malcolm Ginsberg.  I am the only Malcolm Ginsberg in the whole wide world it would seem.

What came first, cruising or flying.  That’s easy.  In 1951 my parents were “Ten Pound Poms” and emigrated to Australia taking with them myself and my little brother Warren (who I am proud to say has received an MBE).  They did not like Australia, turned around and came back.  We cruised out on Asturias, a former troop ship, and back on Orion, pride of the Orient Line, now P&O.

My next seagoing adventure was in 1961, and Israel’s Barmitzvah celebrations, part of a British Boy Scout delegation.  Train to Marseille and then the Israeli Zim line to Haifa.  Israel was the destination for my first ever flight, on an El Al Bristol Britannia in 1965.

It was as a motor-sport writer that I was recruited by Lotus Cars as media manager 55 years ago.  Later I became a successful owner of a PR agency whose clients included a small airline based at Plymouth Airport called Brymon Airways. I was also publisher of the Flight International Directory series of reference books, in their time the bible of the industry and Business Travel News, in its time the proscribed email reading for all in the travel trade on a Monday morning. And travellers as well.

With my Brymon hat on I was one of the four key people who helped found London City Airport, Phillip Beck of Mowlem gaining a knighthood.

After a number of takeovers, it is now 75% owned by the Australian investment company Macquarie.  

My knowledge of the airport is unique having first visited the site in 1983. I also like to call myself ‘a man of vision’.  It was this ‘vision’ that helped to introduce London City Airport.   LCY was formally opened on 5 November 1987 by the late Queen Elizabeth. (She was to visit again at the time of the London Olympics).  

In 1988 the BBC’s John Bell (he reported on the first Virgin Atlantic flight to New York) and a young Simon Calder supplied the commentary for the first BAe 146 jet test landing.  

Prince Philip was quick to follow, recommended by his wife it is said.  Later Princess Diana opened the extended runway.

This lecture has a certain poignancy connected with the events in Israel. I had hopes that I could announce that British Airways CityFlyer, the major carrier at the airport, would next year fly to Tel Aviv.  That now seems to be a long way away, but possible.

London City Airport has some tremendous advantages with its position in regard to London’s City, only 30 minutes from Bank Underground station via the DLR.

The Elizabeth Line, much based on the previous North London Line, runs under the runway passing the site of the previous Silvertown for London City Airport station.  Boris Johnson, Mayor of London during the building period, was anti the airport and in favour of a transport hub in the centre of the Thames estuary.  It was he that cancelled the station.  As London Mayor he followed Ken Livingstone who – in spite of his antisemitism – was a true socialist working for the good of Londoners.  Livingstone was also anti-airport but supported the DLR extension. He was pragmatic. 

Sadly, rather like other airports, London City has got mixed up with local politics, mainly to its detriment.

Can I at this point ask if anyone here knows where the executive building of the Greater London Authority is?  

No not County Hall Westminster, nor the derelict carbuncle opposite the Tower of London across the Thames that is the remains of Ken Livingstone’s reign.

The new so-called City Hall is situated in Silvertown one mile away directly on the line of the runway, proving the point that today’s latest aircraft are much quieter than the predecessors, and the mayor is happy.  Or is he?  He has never been to the airport.

Let’s go back 500 years.

History shows that to the east of Tudor London the area was mostly marshland except for Tilbury, 25 miles away with a fortress guarding the Estuary.  It was here where Elizabeth I made her famous speech in 1588 (“I know I have the body but of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too…”).  

Through the early 1800s docks were being developed, typically the East India.  In 1855 Royal Docks (now hosting both London City Airport and Excel) opened, part of what at that time was the world’s greatest port.  It closed in 1981 due to containerisation.    

The docks were the gateway to London for East European Jews escaping the pogroms.  

Jews from what we now call Israel have left evidence of landing in Cornwall 2,000 years ago.  Sir Frances Drake’s navigator was Joseph the Jew from Pymouth.  Jews from France followed William the Conqueror and established small communities but were expelled in 1290 by Edward I after some awful bloodletting.  Oliver Cromwell officially re-admitted the Jews to what was known as “The Commonwealth” in 1656.  Bevis Marks Synagogue (Sephardi) was established in 1701 and Plymouth (Ashkenazi) 1764.  Both are still active.  The King, as Prince Charles, firmly acknowledged Britain’s Jewish heritage in a visit to the statue of Licoricia of Winchester in March 2022.  She was said to be the richest woman in England during the 12th century.  

The Docklands Museum has been less than helpful, although keen to promote other minorities who in truth had little influence.  

Jewish businessmen were involved in shipbuilding and supplies in the late 1800’s.  For the refugees from Europe there was a passenger terminal in the Royal Albert Dock but most were taken to Tower Bridge and finished up in the nearby Whitechapel area.  

Henry VIII’s dogs were walked regularly on local agricultural land, hence the name. 

Canary Wharf, on the other hand, takes its moniker from the Canary Islands from where bananas were imported to the West India Docks.  

Charles Dickens described the Docklands in the 1860s as a place where “accumulated scum of humanity seemed to be washed from higher grounds, like so much moral sewage”.  Until the 1960s, the Isle of Dogs was however a hive of activity – thousands were employed on the docks and in related industries.  It is now rejuvenated and with the new Elizabeth Line, and the DLR running straight down the centre, property prices are escalating. 

Hardly acknowledged by the Museum is Canary Wharf, the business centre which financially supports its very existence and in whose shadow is the disused warehouse where the museum now resides.  Canary Wharf is the London headquarters of many of the world’s major financial institutions, professional firms and businesses.  Also the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Without going into details, that would need another lecture, what we call Canary Wharf, was developed by the orthodox Canadian Jew Paul Reichmann from 1987 with his vision to create a ‘total environment’.  The Reichmann Brothers had a track record of delivery, most notably having built The World Financial Centre in New York.  There is a mezuzah on the doorway to No1 Canary Wharf.

How many of you have used London City Airport?  

In 2017 I was privileged to write the official history of the airport.  The last page replaced by an advert. It was planned to promote an Elizabeth Line station at nearby Silvertown.  It is hoped that King Charles will make a Royal visit to the airport to celebrate its 40th anniversary towards the end of 2027 and with it a revised edition of my book. “London City Airport – 40 Years Serving The Capital”.

London City Airport is built on a dock site in Silvertown.  During the whole of the 20th century the North London Line ran from Richmond to North Woolwich (with its still working ferry) and a station opposite the Tate and Lyle factory, renamed in 1987 Silvertown for London City Airport.  It was on the tracks of this line, from Custom House/Excel, that Crossrail was built, now renamed The Elizabeth Line.  The North London Line and station closed in 2007, the station not replaced.  Politics interfered. Crossrail was late, and Mayor Johnson was promoting his London taxpayer funded Thames estuary airport project and wished to close London City Airport.  

He was assisted by his so-called transport expert Daniel Moylem (now a member of the Lords). 

In 2019 just over five-million passengers passed through the airport.  The number will be just under four million for this year and the Department for Transport has approved a passenger cap of nine million for 2031.  This figure is remarkably optimistic in my opinion when you realise that the largest aircraft allowed to land at the airport only has around 120 passenger seats, as against 500 for an A380 at Heathrow.  

Why are the numbers down so?  You must ask the airport, but the loss of Flybe and then Blue Islands did not help.  British Airways CityFlyer, conscious of the bottom line, reduced its fleet to 20 aircraft, but increased the physical passenger numbers per plane, leaving its contribution much the same.  The current British Airways Embraer’s, whilst still quiet, do need replacing.  The passenger catchment area is huge, and will be further helped by a massive future development of 5,000 homes near West Silvertown DLR station, just one stop away.

Here is brief timeline of London City Airport 

1981: The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was established by Michael Heseltine, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, also responsible for the rejuvenation of Liverpool from the same period. After successfully launching the megalopolis which is now Canary Wharf, the LDDC was formally wound up at the end of March 1998. Reg Ward, Chief Executive, did not receive a single honour for what was the greatest regeneration in our lifetime, nor his number two Stuart Innes, who essentially held the London City Airport portfolio.  Both have passed on.

1981: I visited Unst with Flight International magazine for Brymon Airways to demonstrate the short take-off four-engined De Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft.  An article published in February 1982 was read by Philip Beck, Chairman of Mowlem, builders and developers, much involved with the LDDC, and a private pilot.  He contacted New Zealander Bill Bryce, owner of Brymon Airways, who phoned me in London knowing I had a Private Pilot’s Licence.  He said: “Some crazy fool wants to fly into the docks”. 

As tasked, I inspected a landing site at Heron Quays reporting favourably to Bryce. 

June 1982: Following Civil Aviation Authority approval a Dash 7 test landing was made at Heron Quays.  Take a look at the commemoration plaque at the station.

1983: A public enquiry took place and another landing was organised for the benefit of the Inspector.

1986: After legal objections the go-ahead was given by then Aviation Minster Michael Spicer.  Prince Charles laid the foundation stone.

The term London City Airport was suggested by Mrs Anne Stuart, a former pupil of London City School for Girls and wife of the airline’s CEO, Charles Stuart.

1987: The first landing in May, the airport officially opened on 26 October with a Brymon flight to Paris and the new London City Airways (a British Midland Airways spin-off) to Amsterdam.

Queen Elizabeth II opened LCY on Guy Fawkes Day, 5 November 1987, The Queen came in by road, and returned to Westminster on the Royal Barge.  She was quoted as saying “Prince Philip would really like this”.  Subsequently The Duke flew in quite a few times.  Was he the pilot?  Who knows?

London Mayor Livingstone begrudgingly supported LCY, whilst Mayor Johnson did all he could to strangle the enterprise in 2006, subsequently by stopping the development of an Elizabeth Line station on the site of the old Silvertown Station.  The current Mayor has never been to the site. 

1988: The first test landing on a BAe 146 (Avro) jet. 

Princess Diana visited the airport in 1994, via the Royal BAe 146, to open the extended runway, now 1200m rather than original 1050m.

Brymon Airways was purchased by British Airways in 2003.  BA CityFlyer is now the largest operator at the airport, with about half the passenger traffic. 

1999: The Millennium Dome (now O2) was opened.  With the introduction of the DLR to the airport at the back end of 2005 and in 2006 the 3-million passenger barrier was broken. 

British Airways commenced the first scheduled transatlantic flights from the airport in September 2009 outbound via Shannon. This was withdrawn with the arrival of the pandemic. 

The private jet centre has its own customs and immigration.  It’s ideal for low profile VIPs.

2010: The atrium was filled in, creating the airport as we see it today.  Over the years the quality airside retail space has been extensively developed in this large floor area.  

The escalator to security is original, that area enlarged and improved. 

2012: Declan Collier, a genial Irishman, and former Managing Director of Dublin Airport arrived, seeing much increased numbers, successfully putting a development plan forward to Newham Council, BA expanding, the airport gaining awards and in 2015, 4-million-plus passengers.  A parallel runway was completed in 2020 which meant up to 40 aircraft landings and take-offs could be completed in one hour, easily making London City one of the most efficient gateway airports in the world. 

Late 2017: Collier resigned and was replaced by Robert Sinclair, a New Zealander and previously Managing Director of Bristol Airport. Last year he quit to become CEO of HS1, the high-speed train line to the Channel Tunnel. The present CEO is Alison FitzGerald, who joined in 2014, previously the Chief Financial Officer.

March 2017: A Bombardier C series (now Airbus A220) flew non-stop to New York JFK from London City. 

With the Collier effect in 2019 a record 5.1-million passengers passed through the airport.  This year the number will be creeping towards 4-million.  

January 2021: London City became the first major airport controlled by a remote air traffic control tower based near Southampton.  

London City Airport was conceived as an airport for business travellers but even prior to the pandemic 50% of passengers were thought to be leisure. 

And as far as aircraft are concerned LCY started life with main user the 50-seat de Havilland Dash 8 turboprop, then the British Aerospace 146 jet (up to 112 seats), replaced by the Embraer 190 series, with a similar configuration, and also the Airbus A220.  For the now abandoned New York BA services via Shannon a specially modified Airbus A320 was used, but limited to 35 seats.

During its history LCY has had a number of owner/investors.  In 1995 John Mowlem Plc sold for £25m to businessman Dermot Desmond who traded for £750m in 2006 to the same people who owned Gatwick Airport. Since November 2025 Macquarie now own 75%, the rest covered by Wren House Investments, a direct infrastructure investments arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority.   

Macquarie has promised a half billion-pound investment to upgrade the terminal and redevelop the runway taking the total investment towards £3bn.  Current Transport Minister, Heidi Alexander, has authorised a 9m passenger target for 2031, said by some to be very optimistic 

The airport is presently closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, a planning application to the local borough to stay open until 5pm on the Saturday turned down, the only such ruling in the whole of the UK. 

There is no progress for a Silvertown Elizabeth Line Station and just a vague notice that dedicated electric bus services could be introduced to Custom House for that branch of the DLR and the Elizabeth Line.  A proposed extension of the DLR from Woolwich into central Kent has been dumped in favour of Thamesmead via the Beckton extension. It’s of no value to LCY.

Longer haul destinations are possible but Moscow is now out and Tel Aviv unlikely. 

London City is award winning and loved by passengers, but not anywhere near back to 2019 levels which must be a worry to the owners.  The use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A320 neo has been suggested but the aircraft manufacturer has not confirmed that it is possible.  We wait and see.  BA dominates with 50% of passenger traffic, with next up the Lufthansa Group, with Lufthansa itself, Swiss and Italy’s ITA all established at the airport!

As things stand, with the current passenger growth, by November 2027 London City might just reach the November 2019 figure of a 5.1 million passenger throughput.  For 2025 it will not reach four million.  

In my view the 2+2 seating on the aircraft, in either class, is the most comfortable plane in the British Airways European fleet.  BA CityFlyer is considering new even quieter aircraft, but we wait and see.

The airport website shows 45 European destinations.  

Don’t waste your time with London’s four other airports if you are flying to Europe.  London City deserves all the plaudits it gains from passengers.  It’s not perfect, failing to reach present day accessibility standards, but the original 15-minute check-in still stands!   In my option its future lies in the hands of British Airways.

If you are looking for an airport to compare London City with, read up my history of Billie Bishop, Toronto City Airport, even closer to the centre of the City  https://www.travelnewsupdate.co.uk/article/1106

As previously said I first “cruised” as a Ten Pound Pom in 1951.  

Over 2.5 million UK cruise packages are expected to be sold next year, and 35 million around the world.

Let’s face it booking a cruise is a complex business.  The pricing regime alone is complicated, and it’s easy to be caught out!

The number one question is how much do you want to spend?  The rest follows in some sort of order.

* Deep sea or river cruising? If you take a river trip it is not dissimilar to a coach tour, all meals provided, but the same room every night and off ship tours every day.

* Are you happy to fly to your start/finish port or would you prefer a Dover, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Tilbury, Southampton rendezvous?  Or one of the lesser UK ports?  In the summer there is a big choice of lines and destinations from British ports.  Much less so either side of Christmas.

* Do you have special dietary or medical needs? All cruise ships have at least one doctor on board.  Kosher, vegetarian and vegan are normally not charged for but do check before booking.

* The ship choice is large.  Big or small? 50 to 5,000 plus passengers.

* How do you want to dine?  Do you want to dress up for dinner every night or take in a less formal or even self service meal.

* Where do you want to cruise to? Near home or far away. 

* Do you want a cruise that takes in a new port every day?  Or one that has a day at sea and a day in port? Or more time at sea?  More time at the port? Or just rest on board when in port?

* Is your requirement to make it a holiday with children, or completely without?

* Are you into the budget cruise business, or do you want 6-star luxury?

* Inside or outside cabin?  A balcony can easily double the cost of the trip.

* Specialised cruises.  Is this for you?  Cooking, Musical, Sport or other interests.

* The on-board activities.  Not bothered or interested? Typically are you into bridge or would like to learn.  Some ships run cooking schools and enrichment programmes.  Do you want to keep up your golf prowess?  Some have simulators, others nets.

* Some lines "suggest" you pay an 'all in' service charge, others offer courtesy drinks, and free port tours, plus even a chauffeur car service.  This of course is covered by your overall cruise cost, but it does make for a relaxed holiday.

* Paid for, or sometimes 'free', wi-fi on board cruise ships is now much improved, enabling video conversations to loved ones to be made in the middle of the ocean.

* Various ships now include TV chefs, sports personalities with inside stories, whilst Saga offers Jools Holland evenings several times a year.

*Most lines offer a Friday evening service, usually around 5pm. But check at the desk early in the week to make sure/request.  Ambassador refuses to offer this facility, but for no charge you can order kosher with the line. I don’t think they want customers to know they have Jewish clients on board.  Pure antisemitism in my opinion.  One way around the problem is a question at the ‘public’ food preparation briefing at the start of the cruise.  That will highlight Jewish holidaymakers.

You can get cruising information from  www.cruising.org 

THE  PROMISED LAND

Israel’s tourism sector is demonstrating remarkable resilience, charting a steady course toward recovery. While visitor numbers remain below the record-breaking levels seen prior to the conflict – such as the approximately 4.55 million international arrivals in 2019, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) – the trend since the end of major hostilities has been one of fragile yet persistent growth.

The first half of 2025 has offered encouraging signals, with CBS data showing inbound tourist arrivals reaching approximately 610,900 visitors between January and June. This figure is still far from the pre-conflict volume, it represents a substantial increase of over 23% compared to the same period of 2024, when arrivals plummeted to around 961,300 for the full year.

Furthermore, data from the Israel Hotels Association shows that tourist overnight stays rose sharply by nearly 40% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to 2024, an increase from 1.5 million to 2.1 million. This rebound, though starting from a low base, is buoyed by the return of solidarity delegations, business travellers, and faith-based groups, indicating a growing confidence among specific market segments.

The outlook for 2026 is one of optimism across the industry, with the Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) anticipating a major acceleration in the recovery process. The forecast is driven by the significant re-establishment of air routes by major international carriers at Ben Gurion Airport, a critical indicator of confidence by the Airport Authority. For example, the return of US carriers like Delta Airlines, which is set to resume flights from key hubs such as Atlanta and Boston in the spring of 2026, alongside United Airlines’ plans to increase its weekly flight count to 25 by March 2026, signals rapidly expanding capacity. This increased connectivity is expected to bring visitor numbers closer to, if not exceeding, the 3.01 million arrivals recorded in 2023. 

Wizz has stolen much of the UK Luton traffic but the March return of easyJet will give competition over price.  

Israir operates the Airbus A320 on the route, but is not recommended with its UK low profile agent, TAL Aviation.  

El Al from Luton (and Heathrow) is more expensive and it offers Heathrow too, as does British Airways.  Virgin Atlantic, stopped its Tel Aviv route from Heathrow with the outbreak of Covid.  It is unlikely to return now that its Israeli Chief Executive has recently left the airline after seven years of looking after Sir Richard Branson.

Looking at source markets, the recovery is being led by traditional and highly dedicated segments. Data from the CBS consistently highlights the United States as the highest number of international arrivals even during 2024. The tourisy  board is also targeting the robust Jewish and Evangelical communities globally, particularly in the US, as the initial and most resilient travellers. 

In summary, Israel’s tourism industry is navigating a decisive phase of recovery. The combination of expanding air travel capacity, a surge in hotel development, and targeted marketing efforts is poised to make the coming year a pivotal moment, welcoming travellers back to experience the country’s unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty.

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 I am happy to email these notes.  Request to malcolm@ginsberg.co.uk