British Airways said it will suspend all flights to and from Gatwick airport as demand for air travel continues to collapse amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the BBC, the airline told staff in an email that it was facing ¡°unprecedented circumstances¡± and that due to ¡°considerable restrictions and challenging market environment, like many other airlines, we will temporarily suspend our flying schedule at Gatwick¡±.

BA added that it would contact affected customers to ¡°discuss their options¡±.

There is no indication as to when services might resume.

The news comes after Easyjet grounded all of its aircraft, saying travel restrictions across the globe had made the decision necessary. Norwegian, another large carrier to operate from Gatwick, has grounded the vast majority of its fleet.

Gatwick airport announced last week that it will close its North Terminal from 1 April and will only be open to passenger flights between 1400 and 2200 each day due to a downturn in traffic.

BA will continue to operate some flights from Heathrow, but these are on a severely reduced schedule to allow Brits to travel home from abroad.

Aviation bosses have been lobbying the UK government to provide a targeted aid package to save the industry from going under amid cratering demand, but so far chancellor Rishi Sunak has said financial support will be considered on a case-by-case basis only after companies have exhausted all other options. Firms are eligible for existing government schemes such as salary subsidies for furloughed staff, but many CEOs say this is not enough to reduce the costs involved in running an airline.