Flights departing from Gatwick Airport were brought to a standstill after a technical problem involving an aircraft forced the runway to close, leaving passengers facing delays and diversions.
The runway was shut shortly before 2pm this afternoon, after a Boeing 787 was reportedly unable to leave the airfield.
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Emergency vehicles were seen around the aircraft as airport teams worked to remove it and restore normal operations.
Gatwick confirmed the disruption was caused by a problem affecting a departing aircraft.
A spokesman for Gatwick said: “Due to a technical issue with a departing aircraft, our runway is currently closed.
“Our teams are working to move the aircraft and resume operations as quickly as possible. As always, safety and security is our number one priority.”
Passengers were advised to continue travelling to the airport as planned and check the latest information with their airline.
The aircraft was understood to have been operating a service to New York, which had been scheduled to depart shortly after 1pm – later cleared from the runway.
The disruption caused widespread knock-on effects, with reports of flights being diverted to other airports.
One passenger travelling back from the Isle of Man described being diverted to Luton as the chaos unfolded.
Posting on X, they said they were “stuck on a plane returning from the IOM to Gatwick after jawbone surgery yesterday” and were “exhausted”.
They added: “The plane has diverted to Luton… I’d rather get out and catch a train back to London!”
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Another frustrated traveller posted directly to Gatwick on social media, asking: “Gatwick Airport any idea what is happening? I am stuck on your runway with no information.”
The incident adds to a series of recent disruptions at the airport.
Last month, Gatwick passengers were hit by a separate water outage after a burst water main affected supplies to the airport.
The interruption left travellers unable to use some toilet facilities, wash their hands or refill water bottles for several hours.
At the time, passengers reported a lack of information and described conditions inside the airport as unacceptable.
One source said: “There were no announcements, they just started turning away everyone at the restaurants.”
They added water fountains were also unavailable, while toilets were becoming increasingly difficult to use.
The airport’s water supply is provided by SES Water, which serves parts of Surrey, Kent and London.
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