AIRLINES cancelled thousands of flights and laid off staff as UK coronavirus cases continued to climb.

Norwegian announced it will scrap about 3,000 journeys between now and June “due to the COVID-19 situation”.

Contingency plans will include the temporary layoff of a “significant share” of its staff.

The company is the third largest airline at Gatwick, with 4.6 million yearly passengers, and 1,200 UK-based pilots and cabin crew.

But, in the past week, Norwegian has seen demand on future bookings fall dramatically.

Chief executive Jacob Schram said: “Unfortunately, cancellations will affect a significant share of our colleagues at Norwegian.

“We have initiated formal consultations with our unions regarding temporary lay-offs for flying crew members as well as employees on the ground and in the offices.

“We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with unions and employees to work through this difficult situation together.”

It is not the only airline to be forced into drastic action following the global spread of coronavirus.

Ryanair has announced it will stop services to and from Italy from Friday until April 8, and British Airways has also ditched routes to the country until early next month.

The news came as the number of coronavirus cases in the UK leapt to 373 as of 9am yesterday, an increase of 54 overnight.

Shortly before the release of these figures, chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty also confirmed that a sixth patient had died from the virus in the UK.

He said: “The patient, who was being treated by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, was in their eighties and had underlying health conditions.

“It appears the virus was acquired in the UK and full contact tracing has begun.”

The death toll in Italy has also soared with more than 100 deaths in a day.

As a result, Gatwick Airport has put in place screening measures for people flying into the site from affected areas.

A spokesman said: “Gatwick is following the advice of Public Health England in full and – like other UK airports - has an advanced monitoring process in place for direct flights from affected areas, including Italy.

“The latest advice from Public Health England for passengers is also displayed throughout the terminals and enhanced cleaning is taking place in public areas across the airport.”