British airport shuts runway in safety row

LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) Bristol International Airport in south-west England closed its runway today to speed up resurfacing work after 10 airlines suspended operations because of safety concerns.

Since Friday, 369 flights have been cancelled or diverted after the airlines, including low-cost operator easyJet, raised concerns over braking in wet conditions.

''All flights for the rest of today and tomorrow morning will be either diverted or cancelled,'' Bristol Airport said in a statement.

''This decision has been made in consultation with our airline partners. This will allow us to fast-track the on-going work on the temporary surface of part of the runway, which could otherwise only be done at night.

''We are confident that for those airlines which have suspended their operations, this will address their concerns and allow them to resume operations.'' Bristol Airport expects to complete a 17-million-pound five-month resurfacing of the runway in March.

A Bristol Airport spokesman said 16 incoming and outgoing flights would be affected today. He was unable to give a figure for tomorrow due to the uncertainty as to when the resurfacing work would be completed.

Last year 5.6 million passengers used the airport.

REUTERS PB BS152