The runway at London’s Gatwick Airport was closed on Friday after a British Airways flight was aborted on the tarmac.
An Emirates flight from Dubai was caught up in the chaos and diverted to Brussels after the incident with BA flight G-VIIT BA2279 for Vancouver, Canada.
Thousands of airline passengers on flights to and from Gatwick airport are suffering disruption after the runway was closed following a problem with the departing British Airways Boeing 777.
Gatwick’s website showed delays to at least 13 flights in the afternoon.
A London Gatwick spokeswoman said: “The main runway was closed for a short time today due to a departing aircraft having hot brakes. 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.”
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said the plane had “rejected take-off”.
The website reported the closure of the runway at 12.53pm and stated at 1.14pm it had reopened.
Airport fire service vehicles escorted the aircraft as it was moved off the runway, flight tracking website Flightradar24 said.
A British Airways spokesperson said: “Our pilots took the precautionary decision to cancel take-off due to a technical issue.
“Safety is always our top priority and we apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”
Updated: June 28, 2024, 1:53 PM