LONDON — London Heathrow Airport was briefly forced into single-runway operations today after a British Airways flight from Rome declared an airborne emergency due to a landing gear hydraulic failure, forcing a go-around on final approach.
Flight BA547, operated by an Airbus A320 (registration G-TTNR), departed Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) at 11:40 CEST bound for London Heathrow (LHR). The flight proceeded normally during its cruise phase and began its initial descent over the English Channel without incident.
Go-Around and Emergency Declaration
At 1:09 PM local time, as the aircraft was on final approach to Heathrow’s northern runway (09L), the flight crew detected a hydraulic system anomaly affecting the landing gear deployment.
The pilots immediately aborted the landing at 450 feet above ground level, executing a go-around to address the technical issue safely.
The aircraft climbed back to 3,700 feet and entered a holding pattern for approximately 20 minutes while the crew worked through emergency checklists. During this period, the pilots transmitted a Squawk 7700 code (the international transponder code indicating a general emergency) to request priority handling from air traffic control.
Safe Touchdown and Operational Impact
After completing necessary procedures, the crew lined up for a second approach and landed safely on runway 09L at 1:45 PM.
As a standard precaution for gear-related emergencies, airport fire and rescue services met the aircraft on the runway following touchdown. Because emergency vehicles surrounded the A320 on the northern runway, air traffic controllers temporarily adjusted airport operations:
- 10-Minute Single-Runway Operation: All inbound flights were immediately shifted to Heathrow’s southern runway (09R).
- Return to Normal: Airport operations returned to full two-runway capacity within 10 minutes after the aircraft was safely inspected and cleared from the active runway.
No injuries were reported among the passengers or crew onboard. Flight operations at Heathrow quickly stabilized with minimal lingering delays.
