British Airways will be temporarily suspending its flying schedule at Gatwick Airport, the company has announced.
The planes will be grounded from April 1, although the airline will keep equipment for essential functions at the airport, such as maintenance, towing and cleaning. This will enable the carrier to restart operations quickly.
This is due to the ‘considerable restrictions and challenging market environment’ amid the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson said. They continued: ‘Like many other airlines, we will temporarily suspend our flying schedule at Gatwick. We are contacting affected customers to discuss their options.’
The airline, which jets to Europe, America and the Caribbean from the West Sussex airport, has already mothballed many planes across its UK bases – but is still running from London Heathrow with a severely reduced schedule.