London City Airport is suspending all commercial and private flights from Wednesday night amid the UK coronavirus lockdown.
Flights will be suspended from this evening until the end of April.
The airport said in a statement: “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.
“At this point in this fast moving and unprecedented situation, we think this is the responsible thing to do for the safety and well-being of our staff, passengers and everyone associated with the airport.”
The statement added: "During this period, we will continue to work with the authorities and follow official guidance.
"All our staff will continue to be employed and will return to work as soon as possible."
The airport said it has offered its services to the Government in case it needs be used by the emergency services or other agencies to "support the national effort to combat the outbreak of this virus and provide care to people in need".
"Supporting the community remains a priority for us," the statement said. "Now, more than ever, we want to help however we can."
It comes as Qantas announced today it is to operate the first non-stop flight from Darwin to Heathrow as travellers struggle to return to the UK.
Its flagship Sydney to London service usually flies via Singapore but, due to travel restrictions on international journeys, the airline has been forced to find an alternative route.
The temporary route will only operate this week, before Qantas suspends all international flights until May 31 at the earliest.
It comes after NHS nurses accused the Government of "turning their backs" on them, as they were left stranded in Australia following numerous flight cancellations.
This week, Boris Johnson outlined strict new measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus in the UK, including a ban on public gatherings of more than two people.
Mr Johnson today said he will lift the lockdown measures at "the earliest opportunity", saying the restrictions will be relaxed faster if Britons conform to the new government measures.
