London City Airport to suspend operations as demand for air travel plummets
London City Airport will suspend its operations until the end of April, amid a collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus.
The airport said it will close its runway to commercial and private flights from Wednesday night.
London City is the UK’s 12th busiest airport, handling 5.1 million passengers last year.
Its location close to the capital’s financial district makes it particularly popular with business travellers.
An important update from the airport at the heart of London.
We’re looking forward to welcoming you back soon. But for now, stay home and stay safe. https://t.co/WynJSJ3NaOpic.twitter.com/KEZLdHiZiv
— London City Airport (@LondonCityAir) March 25, 2020
The airport is used for British Airways’ business-class only flights to and from New York.
A spokesman for London City said: “Following the Government’s latest instructions in response to the coronavirus outbreak, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to temporarily suspend all commercial and private flights from the airport.
“This will begin in the evening on Wednesday 25 March and is expected to last until the end of April. We will keep this under review.
“At this point in this fast-moving and unprecedented situation, we think this is the responsible thing to do for the safety and wellbeing of our staff, passengers and everyone associated with the airport.”
