Emirates A380 declares emergency before diverting to Gatwick

Emirates flight EK1, from Dubai, was set to land at London Heathrow Airport yesterday morning but was diverted to Gatwick after it declared an emergency due to "adverse weather conditions"

An Emirates A380

The Airbus A380, which took off from Dubai at around 8am local time, which would be 4am in the United Kingdom.

The plane, which can hold up to 516 passengers, was scheduled to land at Heathrow at around 11.40am.

At the time, the Met Office said wind gusts in the area were reaching as high as 48 miles per hour.

The orange line shows the plane quickly turned away from the runway when attempting to land (Image: ADSBexchange)

Big Jet TV, a YouTube channel for aviation enthusiasts, captured the high winds live at the airport yesterday.

The double-decker plane attempted to land before taking off again.

It ascended back up to 8,000 feet over South London, declaring an emergency by "squawking" 7700 to air traffic control.

The flight was diverted to London Gatwick Airport, where it landed safely in winds of around 19 miles per hour.

This was not the only flight to be diverted on Monday.

Emirates flight EK29, from Dubai, was forced to land at Birmingham International Airport after high winds rendered its landing at Heathrow impossible.

The Argus understands over 500 passengers disembarked in Birmingham and were put on buses back down south.

A spokeswoman for Emirates said: "Due to adverse weather conditions, Emirates flight EK01 and flight EK29 from Dubai to London Heathrow on 13 March diverted to London Gatwick and Birmingham respectively. 

"Both flights terminated at Gatwick and Birmingham.

Consequently, flights EK02 and EK30 (from London Heathrow to Dubai) on 13 March were cancelled and all passengers will be re-booked on alternative flights.

"Emirates apologises for any inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance.”