News

World War Two bomb shuts London City airport

12 Feb 2018 by Mark Caswell
Present day, London City Airport and the City skyline looking west

London City airport is currently closed, following the nearby discovery of a World War Two bomb.

The bomb was discovered during planned work at King George V Dock next to the airport.

In a statement Robert Sinclair, CEO of London City airport said:

“The airport remains closed this morning following the discovery of a World War Two ordnance in King George V Dock on Sunday. All flights in and out of London City on Monday are cancelled and an exclusion zone is in place in the immediate area.

“I urge any passengers due to fly today not to come to the airport and to contact their airline for further information.

“I recognise this is causing inconvenience for our passengers, and in particular some of our local residents. The airport is cooperating fully with the Met Police and Royal Navy and working hard to safely remove the device and resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

A spokesperson for the airport said that 16,000 passengers would be affected by today’s closure.

British Airways is the largest carrier at London City, with Alitalia, Cityjet, Flybe, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss, Tap Air Portugal and VLM also operating out of the airport.

BA is responding to tweets saying that it is “experiencing a higher volume of calls than usual” due to the closure.

The carrier has also posted the following advice on its website:

“Following the discovery of a World War Two device in King George V Dock as part of planned development works, London City Airport is closed today and all services have been cancelled until further notice.

“We are awaiting for more information from the authorities and are keeping the situation under review.”

And the BA press office has also provided us with the following statement:

“We are doing everything possible to minimise disruption for our customers following the closure of London City Airport.

“We are rebooking customers due to travel today onto alternative flights or offering refunds for those who no longer wish to travel.

“​We will be updating ba.com with the latest flight information and are encouraging customers to check the website for more details.”

British Airways London City departures

Cityjet says it is providing an alternative schedule betwen Dublin and London Southend airport, as follows:

  • WX112 DUB 0730 SEN 0910
  • WX113 SEN 11:00 DUB 1230
  • WX114 DUB 0840 SEN 1015
  • WX119 SEN 1145 DUB 1320
  • WX116 DUB 1315 SEN 1445
  • WX121 SEN 1530 DUB 1655
  • WX118 DUB 1530 SEN 1700
  • WX123 SEN 1730 DUB 1905
  • WX122 DUB 1645 SEN 1815
  • WX125 SEN 1845 DUB 2010
  • WX126 DUB 1800 SEN 1935
  • WX127 SEN 2005 DUB 2135

The Docklands Light Railway has also been suspended between Pontoon Dock and Woolwich Arsenal.

Have you been affected by the closure? Take part in our forum here.

The latest information can be found on the airport’s Twitter page and at londoncityairport.com.

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