British Airways has issued a statement after a 'technical fault' on flight BA2673 caused chaos at Gatwick Airport, blocking the only operating runway and forcing nine flights to declare emergencies. The incident occurred early on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
Nine flights declare emergencies
Flight BA2673 landed at Gatwick and blocked the runway, leading to nine flights squawking the emergency code 7700, likely due to low fuel. A total of 14 flights were diverted to other airports: five landed at Luton, four at Stansted, one at Heathrow, three at Birmingham, and one at Bristol.
The affected flights originated from various European destinations, including Tenerife, Valencia, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura in Spain; Rhodes and Athens in Greece; Bari and Rome in Italy; and Agadir in Morocco.
BA statement and passenger reaction
A BA spokesperson said: "Our flight landed safely and customers disembarked normally following reports of a technical fault with the aircraft." The runway reopened around 1:30am, with easyJet and Tui flights among the first to land.
One British Airways passenger posted online: "Our British Airways flight landed in Stansted instead of Gatwick! Still on the plane to see what’s happening next!! Hoping we can be flown back to Gatwick soon!" The Mirror has contacted Gatwick Airport for further comment.
