Gatwick Airport was forced to close a runway after a British Airways flight stalled on the tarmac this afternoon, causing a knock-on effect on other flights.
Several people posted to social media earlier complaining of holdups after the British Airways plane was held on the runway following a "rejected takeoff".
Are you or anyone you know caught up in the delays at Gatwick? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk
Gatwick closed the runway following an incident with BA flight G-VIIT BA2279, which was due to depart to Vancouver this afternoon. Recent posts on X, formerly Twitter, documented the plane's stalled takeoff with emergency services intervening following a "high-speed emergency stop".
Planes were briefly diverted to other airports as delays hit other planned flights, with one passenger saying attending fire service personnel rushed to the scene and started hosing off the aircraft's undercarriage.
They wrote: "They are currently hosing down the undercarriage brakes due to high-speed emergency stop."
Gatwick Airport's departure board showed that at least a dozen flights were cancelled following the incident this afternoon, across multiple airlines.
According to Flight Radar 24, the plane was held following a "rejected takeoff", preventing other aircraft from taking off or landing at Gatwick.
The account reported: "Following what appears to be a rejected takeoff, BA2279 is stationary on runway 26L at LGW. Aircraft cannot currently takeoff or land at Gatwick."
Some frustrated passengers not aboard the affected plane took to social media to complain about the delays. One user said: "What is stopping planes from taking off today?! What is blocking the runway?"
Another said they received a message from easyJet informing them their flight may be delayed, fearing they might miss their own later this evening.
They asked the airline's social media account: "I just got a message from easyJet saying flights might be delayed or redirected due to an aircraft blocking the runway. My flight is at 6pm, will this issue be sorted by then?"
Others have said their flights into the airport have been impacted, with one Emirates plane being diverted to Brussels also earning complaints. A passenger said: "Flight diverted from Gatwick Airport to Brussels. Couldn’t Emirates have diverted us to a Uk airport?"
Gatwick confirmed in a statement that the runway was closed due to the plane's "hot breaks", adding the dedicated airport fire service quickly dealt with the issue. A spokesperson said on Twitter: "The main runway was closed for a short time today (June 26) due to a departing aircraft having hot breaks.
The spokesperson added: "Safety is our top priority and the dedicated airport fire service swiftly attended to support the aircraft. A number of flights were diverted. The runway is now open and operating as normal."
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