London City Airport reopens Sunday following three month closure
20 June 2020, 15:41
Flights will resume from London City Airport on Sunday after it was closed for almost three months during the peak of the coronavirus crisis.
Passengers will face a different to usual flying experience as bosses bring in a raft of new hygiene and safety measures, including enhanced cleaning, limiting terminal access to those with a ticket and mandatory face coverings.
The first flight will land at the airport shortly after 6pm on Sunday from the Isle of Man.
Initially, routes will be limited to the UK and Ireland with more services flying to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin expected to be phased in next month.
Early July will see two new routes launched to Dundee and Teesside, while flights to holiday destinations such as Ibiza, Florence, Malaga and Palma are likely to resume in the coming weeks.
The airport shut down its runway to commercial and private flights on March 25, just two days after the UK went into lockdown, due to the demand in travel and the restrictions on movement.
However, the airport has been serving the Government and military during the pandemic, with London's Nightingale hospital just a stone's throw away.
A look around the NHS Nightingale Hospital - London's new coronavirus centre
The results of a survey of 4,700 London City customers published earlier this week suggested that 79% are very likely or quite likely to fly when they are told by the Government and airports or airlines that it is safe to do so.
Robert Sinclair, chief executive of the airport, said the poll shows passengers have "a desire to not only enjoy a holiday soon after nearly three months of lockdown, but to get back to business travel as well".
Last year it was the UK's 12th busiest airport, handling 5.1 million passengers.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "It is hugely encouraging to see new flight routes connecting Dundee and Teesside to the heart of the UK's financial sector."
