British Airways suspends all flights to and from Gatwick amid coronavirus pandemic

31 March 2020, 07:36

British Airways has announced it is suspending all flights in and out of Gatwick Airport while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on.

A British Airways spokesman said: "Due to the considerable restrictions and challenging market environment, like many other airlines we will temporarily suspend our flying schedule at Gatwick.

"We are contacting affected customers to discuss their options."

The airline will keep equipment for essential functions at the airport, such as maintenance, towing and cleaning, to enable it to restart operations quickly.

Just 33 flights were due to take off or land at the West Sussex airport on Tuesday, according to aviation data provider FlightStats.

From Wednesday, Gatwick's runway will only be open for scheduled flights between 2pm and 10pm.

The airport will also close one of its two terminals.

The measures will be in place for a minimum of one month.

Airports are responding to the decision by airlines to suspend the majority of their flights due to demand plummeting and countries around the world introducing travel restrictions in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.

London City Airport closed its runway to all commercial and private flights last week.

Southend Airport is only open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between 4.30pm and 9.30pm.