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LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) – London’s second-busiest airport, Gatwick, mentioned on Friday it will shut considered one of its two terminals subsequent week following a collapse in flight numbers and authorities restrictions on pointless journeys.
The north terminal, utilized by carriers together with EasyJet, will shut from April 1.
“Gatwick is a resilient but in addition accountable enterprise and through these extraordinary occasions we have to take unprecedented measures to guard the well being and wellbeing of our employees and passengers, whereas additionally shielding the enterprise from the affect of coronavirus,” the airport’s Chief Government Stewart Wingate mentioned.
The terminal will keep shut for no less than a month, the airport mentioned, with the state of affairs being stored below common evaluate.
The closure of the terminal comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson order folks to remain at house to halt the unfold of coronavirus on Monday. Non-essential outlets have additionally been instructed to shut.
A call might be taken on reopening the terminal when airline site visitors will increase and authorities public well being recommendation – together with on social distancing – is relaxed, the airport mentioned.
Scheduled flights on the south terminal will run between 1400 and 2200 BST (1300 and 2100 GMT), with the runway solely open for emergency landings and diversions exterior these hours.
Airways have slashed schedules because of journey restrictions aimed toward slowing the unfold of coronavirus and every week in the past easyJet mentioned it will floor most of its flights, solely working important providers on some routes since Tuesday.
London’s Metropolis Airport mentioned on Wednesday it will shut till the top of April, and Heathrow, the busiest in Europe, has began to shrink its operation to stay open all through the disaster for some passenger flights and a surge in cargo exercise.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Elizabeth Howcroft; modifying by Michael Holden and Stephen Addison)
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