The UK airports with the biggest drop in traffic since lockdown started have been revealed.

Since the lockdown was announced on March 23, ordinary life has come to a standstill and a dramatic number of flights have been grounded.

The UK Government recently requested that any British nationals still abroad for business or short-term purposes return home immediately.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has since advised Brits against all but absolutely essential travel worldwide, with restrictions applying for an indefinite period.

Many countries around the world have now closed their borders to foreigners and may restrict travel without any notice.

As a result of these unprecedented measures, flight traffic in the UK has been in sharp decline since the lockdown was first announced - with some airports seeing a reduction of 100 per cent.

These are the airports that have seen the biggest weekly reduction in flights, according to data from flightradar24.com:

  • Cardiff - 100%
  • Leeds Bradford - 100%
  • Newquay - 100%
  • Gatwick - 99.03%
  • Bristol - 98.06%
  • Newcastle - 98.02%
  • Belfast - 97.81%
  • Birmingham - 97.68%
  • Edinburgh - 97.25%
  • Glasgow - 93.99%

The data looks at the drop in weekly flights between the week ending March 22 (a day before lockdown was called) and the week ending April 19.

Cardiff, Leeds Bradford Airport and Newquay recorded no flights at all in the week ending April 19, representing a drop of 100 per cent.

Gatwick, which saw 1335 flights in the week ending March 22, saw just 13 flights take off in the week ending April 19.

Lockdown measures around the world have seen air and motor traffic fall dramatically, leading to a reduction in air pollution in many cities.

Some cities have seen nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels fall by up to 60 per cent since last year, analysis shows.

Environmental campaigners hope that the drop will encourage permanent action on pollution even when lockdown measures are eased.

Scientists are also exploring a possible link between the severity of air pollution and the chances of dying from coronavirus.

However, medical scientists say it is still too early to confirm a definite link between the severity of Covid-19 and pollution in areas where patients live.