A plane waits on the runway at London City Airport.
CNN  — 

London City Airport was closed on Sunday after construction workers discovered a World War II bomb in the nearby Thames River.

After the discovery of the unexploded bomb near King George V Dock on Sunday, the airport canceled all flights and put an exclusion zone in place, airport Chief Executive Robert Sinclair said in a statement.

“I recognize this is causing inconvenience for our passengers,” Sinclair added, saying that the airport is “cooperating fully with the Met Police and Royal Navy and working hard to safely remove the device and resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

The airport said it is “hoping to resume normal operation” on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the airport’s official account, and urged all passengers due to fly to contact their airlines for further information.

Metropolitan police were called after the bomb was revealed. The Royal Navy was also deployed to the scene and confirmed the nature of the bomb, the police reported.

Operations to remove the bomb are ongoing. The Royal Navy implemented the 214-meter exclusion zone to “ensure that the ordnance can be safely dealt with whilst limiting any risk to the public,” according to Met Police.

In an effort to minimize the disruption, officers are going to homes within the exclusion zone to make residents aware of any safety arrangement put in place, the statement added.

London City Airport is an international airport located in the Newham Borough of East London. The area was heavily industrial and highly populated during WWII. The Royal Docks, where the runways are now located, was a main entry point on the Thames River for goods and commerce.

The airport, which is much smaller than London’s Heathrow Airport, caters to business travelers heading to destinations in the UK, Europe and the United States.

CNN’s Hilary McGann contributed to this report.