Edinburgh Airport is facing major disruption on Monday after a British Airways flight that declared an emergency became stuck on the runway.
Flight BA1443, an Airbus A320 operating from Edinburgh (EDI) to London Heathrow, took off at 11:09 GMT but began circling at 6,500 feet shortly after departure. After around 35 minutes in a holding pattern, the crew declared an emergency due to landing gear fault which could not retract fully.
The aircraft, registered G-EUUI, landed safely back on runway 24 more than an hour after takeoff. However, after coming to a stop, the aircraft remained immobilised on the airport’s only operational runway, preventing any other aircraft from landing or departing.
As a result, planes from easyJet, Ryanair and Lufthansa were forced into holding patterns south of Edinburgh while airport operations came to an unexpected standstill.
Emergency services were deployed as a precaution, and all passengers are being taken back to the terminal via coaches.
Edinburgh Airport advised travellers to expect extended delays while recovery teams worked to clear the runway and restore normal operations.
UPDATE 13:30 GMT
British Airways flight BA1448 from Heathrow is diverting to Newcastle.
UPDATE 13:34 GMT
The aircraft is now being towed off of the runway and onto a stand by the airline’s handling agent.
UPDATE 13:35 GMT
Ryanair flight RK1273 from London Stansted is diverting to Prestwick Aiport.
UPDATE 13:36 GMT
Lufthansa flight LH960 from Frankfurt and Pegasus PC1187 form Istanbul are diverting to Glasgow.
UPDATE 14:43 GMT
Still three flights are holding south of Edinburgh: Edelweiss WK292 from Zurich – Easyjet U2603 from London Luton – ITA U21965 from Milan
UPDATE 13:48 GMT
Flight operations have resumed at EDI Airport. First flight to takeoff is easyJet U2343 to Belfast. First flight to land is Edelweiss WK292 from Zurich.
