Named after London City Airport, the London airport nearest the City of London.
The airport was first proposed in 1981 by Reg Ward of the London Docklands Development Corporation; that November Mowlem and Brymon Airways put forward a 'Docklands STOLport city centre gateway', an airport for short take-off and landing. It opened in 1987 between the Royal Albert and King George V Docks. The DLR station, opened in 2005, simply took the airport's name.