London Heathrow Airport to close one runway amid coronavirus outbreak

London's Heathrow Airport will close one of its two runways starting next Monday as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the aviation industry, British media reported Friday.

Under a new scaled-back operation, the airport, a major international hub in London, said a runway would be shut down from next Monday to "increase resilience and safety for staff, passengers and cargo", according to the London-based Evening Standard newspaper.

A spokesman of the airport said the temporary measure means the transport hub can remain open for vital medical goods and food being flown in.

"Under this new operation, we will alternate which runway we use on a weekly basis and publish a new alternation schedule that will continue to provide local communities with respite periods," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

The decision came after major airlines suspended operations as much of the world has been placed in lockdown due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Gatwick Airport, another major airport about 50 km south of central London, has also significantly reduced its operations.

Figures from Heathrow shows that the airport served 80.1 million passengers in 2018, with a total of 475,624 flights taking off from the west London site in the same year.

Parked British Airways planes are seen at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain March 19, 2020. (VCG)