PILOTS will be forced to follow a new flightpath to avoid a 63-storey skyscraper in Docklands, in East London.

Aircraft approaching or leaving London City Airport will fly within a few hundred yards of Columbus Tower, which will be the second tallest building in Britain at 750ft. It will stand two miles from the airport, almost directly in line with the runway.

The main concerns are that a pilot might misjudge an approach in poor visibility or that an engine might fail on take-off and prevent an aircraft gaining enough height to miss the tower. The airport’s concerns are said to be unrelated to terrorism fears.

Tower Hamlets council gave the tower planning permission last month, conditional on agreement from the Civil Aviation Authority. The CAA has the authority to recommend a public inquiry to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

City Airport had previously demanded that the developer, SKMC, reduce the height of the tower by at least 20 storeys. But the airport is also keen not to lose potential customers by blocking high-rise buildings in Docklands.

It is now drawing up an alternative plan with the CAA under which the flightpath would be diverted a few hundred yards to the north. Flights cannot be diverted to the south because this would bring them too close to One Canada Square — the Canary Wharf tower — which is a few feet taller than the planned Columbus Tower.

Aircraft would fly closer to residential areas around Poplar, increasing the noise disturbance for people living there.

Richard Gooding, City Airport’s chief executive, said the precise route of the flightpath depended on a review of plans for other tall buildings in the area.

Judith Gardiner, a Labour councillor for Limehouse, said: “If the flightpath is pushed further north then flights over my constituents’ homes will be much more frequent and may be detrimental.”

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