Normal service has now resumed
A “hole” in the runway led to Gatwick airport closing yesterday.
Many flights already in the air were forced to stay there whilst the airport opened an alternative runway at 7.40pm.
The airport has resumed normal services now.
This is the second time a hole in the runway has opened up. In June this year it caused lengthy delays for many people on their holidays.
Aviation experts have blamed the increase in warm weather and the amount of people flying over the Summer.
The full closure only lasted about 10 minutes but an airport spokeswoman told the Telgraph. The closure was a ‘precautionary measure’ after something was discovered after an inspection of the runway.
The airport’s twitter account tweeted: “Our main runway is now open and operating and we are working hard to get you on your way. “We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this evening. Your safety is our number 1 priority.”
A spokesman for Gatwick said last night: “This evening at 7.40pm, Gatwick had to switch operations from its usual Southern runway to its stand-in Northern runway, as a precautionary measure, following findings during one of our regular maintenance checks.
“During this change over we had a period of approximately ten minutes when the airport was unable to accept landing aircraft, resulting in approximately eight aircraft being diverted, and delays to flights.
“We are working hard to resume usual operations and get passengers on their way.”
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