Fourteen flights were diverted to other UK airports after London Gatwick’s runway closed temporarily overnight.
The closure followed a problem involving an aircraft that had landed earlier. The landing area was understood to have been blocked by a British Airways flight from Palma de Mallorca, which was surrounded by fire engines after touchdown.
Flights operated by British Airways, TUI, easyJet and Jet2 were among those unable to land. They were diverted to airports including Stansted, Heathrow, Luton and Birmingham, disrupting hundreds of passengers.
Flight tracker Flightradar24 said nine Gatwick-bound flights transmitted emergency code 7700, possibly because they were low on fuel. Its tracking showed many had circled near the airport. The runway reopened at about 1.30am, the tracker said.
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