At least nine flights declared emergency code 7700 after a British Airways jet was left disabled on the runway at London Gatwick, triggering diversions to London Luton and London Stansted. Shaun said the calls were tied to low fuel on the diversions, not the runway closure itself.
The disruption began around 12.50pm when British Airways flight BA2673 landed at London Gatwick and emergency services rushed to respond. Fire and ground vehicles moved to the aircraft while the runway remained blocked.
BA2673 at London Gatwick
Flights broadcasting 7700 came from Spain, Tenerife, Valencia, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, as well as Rhodes and Athens in Greece, Bari and Rome in Italy, and Agadir in Morocco. The nine flights ended up at either London Luton or London Stansted before Gatwick reopened its runway around 1am and incoming jets were able to land.
One passenger on British Airways flight BA2703 said the aircraft from Tenerife landed in London Stansted instead of London Gatwick and added, "It's been much longer flight from Tenerife than usual." The same passenger wrote, "Hoping we can be flown back to Gatwick soon!" easyJet flight EZY89LE, which departed from Agadir, seemed to land at London Luton.
Shaun on 7700
Shaun said, "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". That left the diversions focused on fuel and landing options rather than the closure itself, with the runway reopening later in the night allowing traffic to resume.
For passengers already airborne, the immediate step was the diversion itself: London Luton or London Stansted. Anyone still due to fly into Gatwick was facing a runway that reopened only around 1am, after the disabled aircraft had been dealt with.
