London's airspace was thrown into chaos overnight as 14 flights were forced to reroute after a plane at Gatwick suffered a technical issue.
A British Airways plane, flight BA2673 from Palma de Mallorca, touched down at Gatwick just after midnight and was immediately surrounded by fire and airport service vehicles after identifying an issue in the air. The plane had reportedly suffered a problem with its nose wheel, meaning it was unable to turn or taxi to the gate – leaving it blocking the runway. As a result, nine flights waiting to land declared emergencies due to low fuel levels, while a fire crew rushed to clear the problem.
The affected flights came from destinations including Spain, Morocco, and Greece, and were forced to re-route to Birmingham, Bristol, Heathrow, Luton, and Stansted. Some of the diverted planes flew straight on to Gatwick after touching down – without letting passengers disembark. A passenger's mother, who wrote on social media platform X, shared her experience: "My daughter's plane from Greece was redirected to Luton, so I drove there just to find out from her 10 minutes before my arrival that they won't let anyone out, and after refuelling they will head to Gatwick, so I had to drive back to Gatwick."
Air Traffic Control turned away other inbound flights, which scrambled to find alternative airports. Aviation journalist Shaun's Aviation explained the situation: "I originally thought this was interference like we saw back in 2024 over Russia, but these are in fact all emergencies due to low fuel on diversions away from London Gatwick, which is currently closed due to an aircraft disabled on the runway." British Airways confirmed that the plane landed safely and customers disembarked normally following reports of a technical fault with the aircraft.
A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport confirmed that the 'majority' of those diverted planes eventually made their way to their original destination. "Earlier this morning, the runway was closed for a short period due to a technical issue with an aircraft," the spokesperson said. "As a result, a small number of flights were diverted, with the majority later returning to London Gatwick. As always, safety and security is our number one priority."
The incident has caused significant disruption to air travel, with many passengers facing delays and changes to their travel plans. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the incident will be resolved and what measures will be taken to prevent similar disruptions in the future.
Source: Daily Mail
