London City Airport Closed Due To World War II Ordnance

Published: February 12, 2018

File this under “reasons you don’t hear every day for an airport being shut down.” Yesterday a World War II ordnance was discovered in London, in the River Thames at George V Dock. This was discovered as part of pre-planned work at London City Airport. As a result, yesterday evening the Royal Navy implemented a 214-meter exclusion zone so that the ordnance can be safely dealt with, while minimizing the risk to the public.

In addition to evacuating properties within the exclusion zone and closing roads, this is also causing London City Airport to be closed, given that it’s within the zone. London City Airport is closed all day today (Monday, February 12, 2018), and is expected to reopen tomorrow, but it may take longer.

London City Airport remains closed today following the discovery of a World War Two ordnance in King George V Dock on Sunday. Passengers are advised not to travel to LCY and to get in touch with airline for further information on their flight. https://t.co/9ZD3jDFdOw

— London City Airport (@LondonCityAir) February 12, 2018

While the Metropolitan Police and Royal Navy are trying to deal with this as quickly as possible in order to minimize disruption, they are also taking “all of the necessary steps and precautions to ensure it is dealt with safely.

If you were scheduled to fly out of London City Airport today, then you’ve hopefully already made other plans for getting to your destination. If you’re scheduled to fly tomorrow, be sure you’re following London City Airport on Twitter for all the latest updates.

As I said, this is certainly one of the more unusual reasons to see an airport shut down…

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Fred M Guest

February 13, 2018, 10:24 am

Over here, old bean, we call it an unexploded bomb. Once in a while, the Germans find One of Ours on a building site or somesuch, just to even up the inconvenience.

‼ 0

Jim Lovejoy Guest

February 12, 2018, 6:00 pm

@Chucky This would surely fall under the exception "the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided by any reasonable measure."

Chucky New Member

February 12, 2018, 4:03 pm

I'm curious how compensation gets decided on this - especially under European Union rules for flight delays. Is the airline still accountable when it's an issue with the airport? And if you can claim with insurance on this, can they refuse under the logic that this unexploded bomb is technically related to an act of war? (Many insurance providers refuse coverage when it comes to matters related to armed conflict).

Brad C Guest

February 12, 2018, 1:40 pm

From what I can gather, this was submerged and hadn't been disturbed yet when discovered so this wasn't exactly "exposed". It's not unheard of for removals to be put off to later dates to minimize disruptions, but it seems like an abundance of caution was best when this dock is only a few hundred feet away from a runway.

mpkossen Guest

February 12, 2018, 1:13 pm

@tda Well, in all fairness it's been there for over 75 years.

London City Airport Closed Due To World War II Ordnance

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