It's another major blow for Gatwick, the second busiest airport in the UK, just days after British Airways said it couldn't rule out closing its operation there as well.

Our transport correspondent Tom Burridge has more details, happier times when Sir Richard Branson launched Virgin Atlantic at Gatwick Airport.

But that long lasting airline airport relationship is for now, at least over.

When travel restrictions lift, the airline will not run any flights in and out of Gatwick.

It plans to cut 3000 of its 10,000 staff.

The airline industry is shrinking fast.

Aviation is heading towards a death spiral downward trend across the whole of the aviation sector, which will affect airports which was affect the supply chain all throughout the country.

Virgins exit from Gatwick is a blow, but not a killer punch.

It's the ninth largest airline here.

B A is the second biggest it suggested it may pull out to.

That would be a major hit for businesses.

Andi people nearby.

The sheer amount of money that comes into the local economy through people's paychecks at the airports what powers most of the local economy.

We're really looking at something on the scale that we haven't seen in this country since the eighties, before the pandemic planes would queue to get in on out of this airport.

Now, this is a rare sight that WIC and other airports were just a few weeks ago talking up their expansion plans.

Virtually all of their slots were full.

But all those static tailfins tell you that airlines and airports are suddenly in a very different era.

It is a vaccine or people feel comfortable about flying, and they will do then that percentage of the population are quite happy to jump out of the people who are not because of the hassle through the airports, he's gonna be the mentors.

Bailing out an airline part owned by a billionaire is potentially toxic, So the government has insisted that Virgin Atlantic finds new investors before it gets emergency loans.

The future for this iconic brand is uncertain.

Tom Burridge, BBC News at Gatwick Airport, IATA.

That's the group that represents airlines Air on the world has recommended that all passengers wear masks while flying, but it's expressed concern about the way that social distancing can be insured onboard.

Air Lingus, which is based in Dublin, has been criticized after images were published showing a very full flight from Belfast.

The airline says it will put on five more flights a week to reduce the number of people per flight.

As our island correspondent Emma Body reports, it was these pictures taken by a worker traveling from Belfast to London, which have added to mounting concerns over the way airlines are operating during the lock down.

No source of whatsoever, none whatsoever for the pain and accused during the steps.

And I don't the tarmac as the world Before all this happened, no change whatsoever.

Since restrictions were imposed, the number of daily flights has fallen by around 80%.

Some 60 flights a day now arrive at London Heathrow, compared to 600 a day before the pandemic.

But there's no policy capping passenger numbers.

Air Lingus has said there was unexpectedly high demand on the day those pictures were taken and that it's now urgently reviewing its procedures on board.

But others in the industry have warned that on a plane, social distancing is basically impossible.

I don't believe social distancing on aircraft actually works on.

There are two reasons for that.

One of which is the obvious economic one, the second of which is around the air conditioning system was on airplanes, which rely in part on recycling air within the cabin.

That simply defeats the purpose of social distancing.

The BBC's also heard from one member of British Airways Cabin crew who told us, Be a are also still operating some short haul flights at capacity.

And as these images from Paris to Madrid today show, other airlines are similarly flying with full cabins.

The International Air Transport Association's recommended safety measures, such as masks but says limiting passenger numbers would push up fares.

Neutralising seats on an aircraft could have an enormous negative impact and could lead to that increase up to 55% in fares.

Reviving the aviation industry will be important to the country's economic recovery, but the government said it must be done responsibly.

These are some of the big riel challenges that we've got to grapple with, but the safety of people has got to come first.

There's predictions Passenger numbers may not return to previous levels for several years and currently no standard approach for how to operate onboard embody BBC News Belfast.