Following the announcements from the UK government on Monday night, London City airport will temporarily suspend all commercial and private flights from the airport.

The suspension will be effective from Wednesday evening and, reflecting the timing of the new measures in place, is expected to last until the end of April, but this will be kept under review.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, the demand for global air travel has declined dramatically. At London City, most airlines have now suspended operations for the time being. While commercial traffic will temporarily cease from the central London hub, the airport has indicated to government that the aerodrome can remain open and available to support emergency flights or the military or other government agencies.

CEO Robert Sinclair says: “In these exceptional times, this is the right and responsible course of action to protect the safety and wellbeing of our staff and passengers, and our city.

“At this time of national crisis, we stand ready to keep the aerodrome open and to work with the emergency services and government to support the relief effort in any way we can to ensure that people and communities get the vital care they need.

“The fundamentals of our business remain strong. The airport is backed by very committed, long-term investors and, once confidence returns to the market, the airport and our staff will be ready once again to quickly return to normal operations."

Staff will continue to be employed by the airport throughout the temporary suspension and future decisions around re-opening will be informed by government guidance.