At least nine planes bound for Gatwick Airport declare emergencies in the air after a British Airways aircraft was left at a standstill on the runway at London Gatwick. British Airways flight BA2673 landed around 12.50am, while other inbound flights were diverted to London Luton or London Stansted.
Shaun's Aviation on code 7700
Shaun's Aviation, the Irish aviation journalist, said the emergency codes were due to low fuel on diversions away from London Gatwick. He posted: "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".
The aircraft on the runway was a British Airways jet, and emergency services rushed to respond to BA2673. Vehicle tracking data showed fire and ground vehicles moving to the aircraft, which had arrived after the runway disruption had already begun to spread through arriving traffic.
British Airways BA2673 at 12.50am
A British Airways spokeswoman said: "Our flight landed safely and customers disembarked normally following reports of a technical fault with the aircraft." The airline said emergency services met the aircraft as a precautionary measure.
That leaves two things running at once: BA2673 was treated with a precautionary response after landing, while other aircraft approaching the airport were still forced to declare squawk code 7700 as they ran short on fuel during diversions. The nine flights came from Spain, Greece, Italy and Morocco, including Tenerife, Valencia, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in Spain; Rhodes and Athens in Greece; Bari and Rome in Italy; and Agadir in Morocco.
London Luton and London Stansted
The nine flights were eventually sent to London Luton or London Stansted, and one passenger on BA2703 said their Tenerife service landed at London Stansted instead of Gatwick. That passenger wrote: "Hoping we can be flown back to Gatwick soon!" and added: "It's been a much longer flight from Tenerife than usual."
For passengers, the immediate next step is simple: check whether the flight was diverted to London Luton or London Stansted, because those were the airports used when the Gatwick arrival bank was disrupted. What exactly caused the technical fault that left the British Airways aircraft disabled on the runway is still the point that will determine how quickly normal operations at London Gatwick can settle again.
