Several flights to London Gatwick were diverted across the UK after a sudden runway closure, disrupting hundreds of passengers.
Planes carrying hundreds of passengers were preparing to land at the UK’s second-busiest airport when the runway was forced to shut overnight.
This was due to an issue with an aircraft that had touched down earlier.
British Airways, TUI, easyJet and Jet2 flights declared an emergency at the same time as they were unable to land.
They were diverted to other airports, including Stansted, London Heathrow, Luton and Birmingham.
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The landing area is understood to have been blocked by a BA flight from Palma de Mallorca, which was surrounded by fire engines after landing.
Plane tracking website Flightradar24 said nine flights bound for Gatwick issued the emergency code 7700, likely due to low fuel.
Many of them had circled near the airport for a while, the tracker shows.
A total of 14 flights were diverted in the end before Gatwick reopened at about 1.30am, Flightradar24 said.
One passenger travelling from Tenerife was due to land at Gatwick last night, but was diverted to Stansted.
They said on social media: ‘Still on the plane to see what’s happening next !! Hoping we can be flown back to Gatwick soon!
‘It’s been much longer flight from Tenerife than usual.’
The plane was moved off the runway, but flights continued to be rerouted for some time before the emergency was over and the airfield reopened.
Gatwick confirmed that the ‘short’ closure was caused by a technical issue with an aircraft.
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson told Metro: ‘Earlier this morning, the runway was closed for a short period due to a technical issue with an aircraft.
‘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.’
Metro has approached the airlines for a comment.
Aviation enthusiasts on social media commented on the incident, with many saying they feared the worst when seeing so many emergencies being declared.
One person said they had ‘never seen anything like this before’ as their phone blew up with notifications, making them think ‘the world was ending.’
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