{"id":149950,"date":"2026-07-15T17:34:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T12:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=149950"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:58:19","slug":"british-airways-a320-blocks-gatwick-runway-prompting-9-emergencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/15\/british-airways-a320-blocks-gatwick-runway-prompting-9-emergencies\/","title":{"rendered":"British Airways A320 Blocks Gatwick Runway, Prompting 9 Emergencies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON-<\/strong> United Kingdom, saw one of the country’s busiest airports shut down overnight after a single aircraft became stranded on its only active runway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London Gatwick Airport (LGW)<\/a> faced major disruption in the early hours of July 15 after a British Airways (BA)<\/a> Airbus A320 arriving from Palma de Mallorca (PMI) came to a stop on the airport’s runway, prompting 9 inbound flights to declare emergencies using the Squawk 7700 transponder code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blockage forced 14 flights to divert to airports including London Luton (LTN), London Stansted (STN), Birmingham (BHX), Bristol (BRS), and London Heathrow (LHR), while emergency crews inspected the jet. Gatwick’s single active runway reopened once the aircraft was cleared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Robbie Klinkenberg| Wikimedia Commons\nhttps:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:British_Airways_Airbus_A320_G-EUYA_at_Schiphol_24-11-2022.jpg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

London Gatwick Airport Runway Blocked<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

British Airways flight BA2673 was scheduled to land at approximately 11.50 PM before touching down in the early hours after departing the Spanish resort island. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 recorded the arrival as running behind its scheduled time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft involved was a 25 year old Airbus A320 registered G-GATS. According to The Argus<\/a>, the pilots informed ATC of an issue with the aircraft’s nose wheel and held over South East England while attempting to troubleshoot the problem before being cleared to land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emergency services met the aircraft on the runway as a precaution after reports of a technical fault. Crews did not record a Mayday or PAN distress call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft was then unable to immediately vacate the runway, which left Gatwick, an airport that normally operates with a single active runway, effectively blocked to all inbound traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British Airways aircraft remained in position while an inspection took place. Once crews completed their checks and cleared the runway, normal operations resumed. British Airways later took the aircraft out of service and cancelled a planned round trip to Alicante, Spain, scheduled for Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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British Airways Airbus A320 G-EUYV | Photo: Alexander Lang \/ Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9 Flights Declared Emergency Squawk 7700<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the runway closed, several inbound aircraft were left holding above South East England. As fuel reserves fell during the extended holding, 9 flights transmitted Squawk 7700, the internationally recognized transponder code pilots use to alert air traffic control to a general emergency that requires priority handling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flightradar24 reported that 9 flights originally bound for the London airport were squawking 7700, most likely because of low fuel, and confirmed it was working to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An issue at Gatwick as nine (9) flights originally bound for the London airport are currently squawking 7700 (likely due to low fuel). We are working to learn more. https:\/\/t.co\/HsHBhiVnxD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/cHSUBcbZlv<\/a><\/p>— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 14, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>