London City Airport Shuts Down After A World War II Bomb Was Discovered At Airport
The airport has been shut all day and all flights cancelled, affecting up to 16,000 passengers, officials said.
The bomb was found at George V Dock on Sunday during planned work at the east London airport.
If the attempt to remove the device is successful all flights will run as normal on Tuesday, the airport said.
Following the discovery of a World War Two ordnance in King George V Dock as part of planned development works, a 214m exclusion zone has been implemented as a precaution by the Met Police. As a result, London City Airport is currently closed. (1/3)— London City Airport (@LondonCityAir) February 11, 2018
Families in the area have been evacuated with the exclusion zone set to be widened when specialists from the Met Police and the Royal Navy begin removing the bomb.
The airport was shut at 22:00 GMT on Sunday.
A statement issued by the Met said:
"The timing of removal is dependent on the tides, however, at this stage we estimate that the removal of the device from location will be completed by tomorrow morning."
The Royal Navy said it was taking the necessary steps to "ensure the device is as safe as possible" before removing it from the sea bed and towing it away to a safe disposal site.
"We will then attach high-grade military explosives before carrying out a controlled explosion later today. The aim is to cause as little disruption to the city of London as possible.
"The first stage of the operation is to free the shell from the silt so it can be floated for removal."
According to the airport's website, a total of 261 arrivals and departures had been scheduled for Monday.
"All flights today are cancelled but some airlines have moved their flights to other airports - CityJet to Southend and Alitalia to Stansted", the airport said.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the airport as the terminal is closed and to contact their airline.
Among passengers affected were Tottenham Hotspur fans heading to Italy for a Champions League game against Juventus.
The north London club advised any fans flying to Milan to "contact their airline as soon as possible", ahead of the match in Turin on Tuesday.
Spurs fan David, 52, was booked to fly to Milan on Monday before taking a connecting train to Turin ahead of the Champions League away match.
British Airways has now booked him onto a new flight on Tuesday, he said, but he was disappointed he has lost a hotel night in Turin.
"There's no sense of 'you're out of pocket for a night in a hotel'," he said.
Robert Sinclair, CEO of the airport, apologised and said: "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."
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