Flights out of London’s Gatwick Airport were seriously disrupted when a Vancouver-bound British Airways flight failed to take off Friday morning and shut down the runway for nearly an hour.
At least 23 flights were canceled when BA2279 rejected its high-speed takeoff at 11:48 a.m. due to hot brakes, a London Gatwick spokesperson told The Post.
Gatwick Airport had a major travel disruption on Friday. Getty Images The planned takeoff was aborted due to a technical issue. Flight Aware“Safety is our top priority and London Gatwick’s dedicated airport fire service swiftly attended to support the aircraft. 16 inbound flights were diverted during the closure,” the spokesperson said, adding that there were also “a number of delays to the knock-on impact.”
“The runway is now open and operating as normal,” they explained.
“We are working with our airlines and other airport partners to minimize disruption. Passengers should contact their airlines directly for the latest flight information.”
British Airways explained that the axed takeoff was a “precautionary decision…due to a technical issue.”
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we’ve apologized for the inconvenience caused earlier today following an aborted take-off at Gatwick Airport,” the airline added in a statement to The Post.
The delay caused several flight cancellations and redirections. X/@JusteneFootage from the scene showed a long line of planes waiting for their turn to take off as airport staff scrambled to clear the runway.
One incoming passenger, Patrick Wiltshire, was flying from Dubai to visit his family in London when his flight was forced to stop over in Belgium.
“Five minutes from landing it suddenly diverted and flew to Brussels,” he told BBC Radio Sussex.
“I’ve missed my taxi booking and I’ve missed my event for the evening,” he said.
“There’s been very limited information so we’ve had to take to our phones to find out what’s going on, on Twitter.”