24/07/2009

Emergency Landing Shuts Gatwick

Gatwick Airport's runway has been temporarily closed to all flights following an emergency landing by a Flybe jet.

A Cardiff-bound Dash 8 aircraft had to put down at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

All 46 passengers on board the flight were safely evacuated at the airport at around 11.25am on Friday, airport operator BAA said.

It is believed the aircraft may have suffered a smoke problem.

"The passengers were able to exit down the steps in the normal way and no-one was hurt," a Gatwick Airport spokesman said.

He also said 11 flights due to land at the airport were diverted to others, while another 15 were in waiting-to-land "stacking" positions.

He added: "Three other flights have been held on the ground. We are advising those due to take flights today to turn up as normal.

"This is a busy day but it's not our most busy of the summer. We're hoping that delays will be kept to a minimum."

A Flybe spokesperson said the landing of the BE1432 flight followed a suspected technical fault, and all passengers disembarked without incident following emergency procedures.

All those will be re-accommodated at the earliest possible opportunity, Flybe added.

(JM/BMcc)

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