What will the economic impact be?

The shutdown could cost the airport, the airlines that operate from it and the businesses that rely on them tens of millions of pounds, business correspondent Paul Kelso reports from Heathrow.

But the airport and the government may pay a bigger price in the damage to their reputation, he says - just a few weeks ago, they were talking about building a third runway at Heathrow to boost economic growth, but yesterday they couldn't even run the ones they've got...

Watch Kelso's full report on the economic impact of the shutdown