At least nine planes all declare emergencies over Gatwick Airport as fire engines race to runway

At least nine planes all declare emergencies over Gatwick Airport as fire engines race to runway A total of 14 flights had to be diverted after a 'technical fault' left a British Airways craft on the tarmac Don't Miss Most Read Latest At least nine planes bound for Gatwick Airport declared emergencies in the air last night after a "technical fault" left a jet at a standstill on its runway. The flights, coming from across Europe, "squawked" the emergency code 7700, likely for low fuel. Emergency services rushed to respond to British Airways flight BA2673, which landed at London Gatwick (LGW) around 12.50am. Fire and ground vehicles responded to the jet's emergency, according to vehicle tracking data. The jets which sent out the emergency signals included flights from locations in Spain, including Tenerife, Valencia, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Flights were also diverted from Rhodes and Athens in Greece, Bari and Rome in Italy, and Agadir in Morocco. "I originally thought this was interference like we saw back in 2024 over Russia, but these are in fact all emergencies due to low fuel on diversions away from London Gatwick, which is currently closed due to an aircraft disabled on the runway," Irish aviation journalist Shaun's Aviation said. Speculation had swirled online that the BA flight's landing gear failed, which left the runway covered in fuel. A spokeswoman for the airline told GB News: "Our flight landed safely and customers disembarked normally following reports of a technical fault with the aircraft." London Gatwick was shut down after British Airways flight BA2673 landed on its runway |GETTY It's understood that that flight did not declare any kind of emergency alert, while emergency services met the aircraft as a precautionary measure. The nine flights in the air eventually diverted to either London Luton (LTN) or London Stansted (STN). One user on social media said their flight from Tenerife, bound for London Gatwick, instead landed at London Stansted. The passenger, who was on British Airways flight BA2703, added: "Hoping we can be flown back to Gatwick soon! "It's been a much longer flight from Tenerife than usual." TRAVEL CHAOS - READ MORE: - Airport chaos as flights cancelled after 11 UK travel firms crash into liquidation - Travel chaos erupts across Britain as thousands of flights delayed or cancelled amid extreme weather - EU urged to scrap new border checks as airports reach 'critical point' amid travel chaos At least nine flights were forced to divert to other airports, including London Stansted and London Luton | FLIGHTRADAR24Five further flights were also forced away from their original destination, raising the total diversion count to 14. Five landed at Luton, four landed at Stansted, three flights landed at Birmingham Airport, one landed at Bristol Airport and one landed at London Heathrow. The flights which were sent to Luton include easyJet flight EZY89LE, which departed from Agadir. Also landing at the airport were easyJet plane EZY16VL, from Valencia and easyJet's EZY24LT, from Fuerteventura. A spokeswoman for Gatwick Airport confirmed to GB News this morning that the "majority" of those diverted planes eventually made their way to their original destination. British Airways flight BA2673 caused LGW's runway to be shut, according to social media reports |GETTY "Earlier this morning, the runway was closed for a short period due to a technical issue with an aircraft," she said. "As a result, a small number of flights were diverted, with the majority later returning to London Gatwick. "As always, safety and security is our number one priority." A squawk 7700 is the most common form of emergency signal and is used to indicate a general emergency. Planes are expected to refuel and return to LGW, according to the social media user whose husband was on one. Gatwick eventually reopened its runway around 1am.