Thousands of flights to a London airport have been cancelled because of a World War II bomb found near the runway
An airport in east London has been shut after an unexploded World War II bomb was discovered nearby.
London City Airport closed down at 10.00 p.m. local time (GMT) on Sunday after workers found the unexploded bomb at 5.06 a.m. that morning, the London Metropolitan Police said.
They had been carrying out preplanned work at the King George V Dock by the River Thames.
The area where the airport now stands used to be an industrial centre, and came under heavy bombardment from German planes. Unexploded ordnance still occasionally turns up during construction work.
The airport was closed for the whole of Monday, with all flights in and out of London cancelled. This will affect 16,000 passengers, an airport spokeswoman told the BBC.
Police officers and bomb specialists from the Royal Navy have closed off the surrounding area and evacuated local residents while they deal with the device.
London City Airport operates flights to and from the UK and Europe, as well as New York. More than 4.5 million people used the airport last year.
Robert Sinclair, the airport's CEO, told passengers due to fly on Monday not to come to the airport.
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.” (3/3)
— London City Airport (@LondonCityAir) February 12, 2018
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