London City Airport shut as WW2 bomb found in Thames

London City Airport has been closed after a 500kg World War Two bomb was found nearby in the River Thames.

The airport will be shut all day and all flights cancelled, affecting up to 16,000 passengers, a spokeswoman said.

The bomb was found at George V Dock on Sunday during planned work at the east London airport, police said.

Families in the area have been evacuated with the exclusion zone set to be widened when specialists begin removing the device.

The airport was shut at 22:00 GMT on Sunday. The Met Police said it was working with the Royal Navy to remove the bomb.

A statement issued by the Met said: “The timing of removal is dependant on the tides, however, at this stage we estimate that the removal of the device from location will be completed by tomorrow morning.”

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 thousands of passengers affected were Tottenham Hotspur fans heading to Italy for a Champions League game against Juventus.

The north London football club advised any fans flying to Milan to “contact their airline as soon as possible”, ahead of the club’s 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.

However, he discovered on Monday morning that his flight was cancelled. British Airways has now booked him onto a new flight on Tuesday, he said, but he is disappointed he has lost a hotel night in Turin.

“I woke up this morning to discover that the airport’s shut and all the flights are cancelled,” David said.

“There’s no sense of ‘you’re out of pocket for a night in a hotel’.”

The device is a German 500kg bomb, measuring approximately 1.5m (59in), according to specialist officers and the Royal Navy, Newham Council said.

Robert Sinclair, CEO of the airport, apologised and said: “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.”

Members of airport staff are on Hartmann Road, the main route to the airport, to help redirect people.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-43027472