British Airways flight BA707 diverted from Heathrow to Gatwick after missing Heathrow's nighttime curfew, leaving passengers to end their journey at a different London airport. The flight, which came from Larnaca, landed at Gatwick at 12.12am on Tuesday after a four hour journey.
The aircraft left Larnaca at 9.32pm, more than three hours later than scheduled. AirNav Radar tracked the diversion after the flight failed to make Heathrow before the airport's 11pm to 6am landing restrictions tightened around the overnight window.
Heathrow nighttime rules
Heathrow Airport enforces strict limits on late-night movements to reduce noise pollution. Scheduled flights are heavily restricted between 11pm and 6am, and the airport operates under a night quota system during that period.
When a flight misses that window, landing rights can be denied unless an official emergency is declared. In this case, the service bound for Heathrow was diverted instead, turning a normal arrival into an unscheduled landing at Gatwick.
BA707 passengers in London
For passengers on BA707, the practical change was immediate: the flight finished at Gatwick rather than Heathrow, which meant the journey ended away from the airport they were booked to reach. The record shows the late departure from Larnaca and the overnight landing in London, but it does not say what happened to passengers after touchdown.
The unresolved point is why the aircraft left Larnaca more than three hours late. That delay set up the missed curfew, and once the plane crossed into the overnight slot, Heathrow's landing rules left the crew with Gatwick instead.
