Heathrow to close its southern runway

LONDON - Heathrow closed its southern runway for maintenance Monday as passenger traffic does not flag strong rates of recovery.

"In the first phase, from 13 July 2020 the southern runway will be fully closed day and night so that we can carry out more extensive repairs that require deeper excavation," the airport said in a statement. "During this period, only the northern runway will be in operation."

In a second phase from 2 August the landing strip will close between 7pm and 7am for night shifts of maintenance.

Heathrow reported a 95 percent decrease in passenger traffic in June as Covid-19 travel restrictions continued to curb demand.