Why 9 planes had to declare an emergency above one of Europe's busiest airports

Why 9 planes had to declare an emergency above one of Europe’s busiest airports underscores the disruption caused by a sudden runway problem at London Gatwick. In the early hours of Wednesday, nine aircraft flying over London declared emergencies, while 14 scheduled Gatwick arrivals were diverted to other airports between midnight and 1 a.m. Gatwick, the UK’s second-busiest airport and ranked 11th in Europe, handled almost 43 million passengers last year. A Gatwick spokesperson said the runway was temporarily closed due to a technical issue with an aircraft, with most flights later returning. A British Airways Airbus A320, Flight 2673 from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was the aircraft that stopped on the runway, though an informed source said it may not have declared the emergency. Two Wednesday services linked to the aircraft were canceled, and some diversions reached Bristol and Birmingham. One easyJet flight remained at Stansted when a refueling crew was unavailable; passengers disembarked after more than two hours and were advised they’d be reimbursed.