Flights grounded at Gatwick airport after aircraft has technical issue
The incident happened this afternoon.
Last updated 4th Sep 2026
All flights had been grounded at Gatwick Airport during the afternoon due to an aircraft having technical issues.
The airport had said teams were working to remove it and resume flights.
At around 2:35pm flights started to depart again, although flights were being delayed due to a backlog.
A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “The runway was closed for 50 minutes this afternoon (Friday 4 September) due to a technical issue with a departing aircraft.
"The aircraft was towed from the runway, which reopened shortly afterwards following a full safety inspection. As always, safety and security is our number one priority.”