London City Airport is expanding its FBO area size by 50 per cent and assessing how it can attract business from large charter aircraft. This follows the extension of its corporate aviation facilities with the launch of Northolt Jet Centre Premier Passenger Service (PPS). The aiport now gives its corporate passengers the choice of travelling to London's West End from Northolt or from London City Jet Centre to central London. Darren Grover, head of business aviation, says: "We will handle 14,000 movements this year. We are in the process of building a 50 per cent size addition to the jet centre. It will enable us to boost engineering services, give us more office space and more crew lounge facilities." London City aims to bring the new FBO facilities on stream in September. Grover says: "We feel business and demand is so strong that we can certainly see no reason why movements shouldn't go up to 20,000 or 25,000 annually." Grover adds: "We have seen phenomenal growth in the corporate aviation sector. "This is largely a result of the introduction of fractional ownership, which has simply opened up the industry, making private air travel more accessible and affordable. Fractional ownership has impacted markets worldwide, with Europe enjoying the largest growth rate. Particularly for our East London operation Europe is responsible for the majority of our growth. "Northolt will form a fundamental part of our corporate aviation offering, extending our services to a much wider audience, as we now have the potential to handle almost any aircraft from the business jet family, including a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ)."