LONDON — A major operational disruption at London Gatwick Airport forced at least nine passenger aircraft to declare low-fuel emergencies late Tuesday night after a grounded plane blocked the airport’s sole runway.
The incident triggered a wave of emergency diversions to neighboring airports, leaving hundreds of passengers displaced but resulting in safe landings across the region.
The Catalyst: BA2673 Blockage
The chaos began late Tuesday evening following the arrival of British Airways Flight 2673 from Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The Airbus A320 (registration G-GATS) was scheduled to touch down at 11:50 p.m.
Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency response vehicles and became immobilized on the runway. With the airport’s main runway completely blocked, Gatwick air traffic control had no choice but to halt all incoming landings, forcing dozens of inbound flights into holding patterns.
Holding Patterns Push Fuel Limits
As the runway closure dragged on, aircraft circling overhead began to run critically low on fuel. Under aviation regulations, pilots must declare an emergency (“Mayday” or “Pan-Pan”) when their fuel levels drop to a point where they must land immediately.
In total, nine flights declared fuel emergencies to secure priority routing to alternative airports.
The Affected Flights
The nine aircraft that declared fuel emergencies during the disruption included:
- easyJet:
- U28704 from Agadir
- U28012 from Valencia
- U28042 from Fuerteventura
- U28186 from Athens
- U28330 from Rome
- British Airways:
- BA2607 from Bari
- BA2703 from Tenerife
- Jet2:
- LS3104 from Lanzarote
- TUI Airways:
- BY4249 from Rhodes
Safe Landings at Alternative Airports
The emergency declarations allowed air traffic controllers to clear immediate paths for the affected planes. Flight tracking data confirmed that all nine aircraft diverted and landed safely at nearby airports, primarily London Luton and London Stansted.
Gatwick Airport officials and British Airways have not yet detailed the exact technical issue that caused Flight 2673 to become disabled on the runway. An investigation into the incident is expected.
