Thousands of passengers have been affected today (Friday, June 28) after Gatwick Airport had to close a runway due to an incident.

This occurred due to a problem with a departing British Airways plane as it was said to have "hot brakes".

British Airways pilots took the decision to cancel the take-off and it was moved off the runway.

Flightradar24 reported the closure of the runway at 12.53pm and stated at 1.14pm it had reopened.

A British Airways spokesperson said: “Our pilots took the precautionary decision to cancel take-off due to a technical issue.

“Safety is always our top priority and we apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.”

Meanwhile, a Gatwick airport spokesperson said: “The main runway was closed for a short time today due to a departing aircraft having hot brakes.

“Safety is our top priority and the dedicated airport fire service swiftly attended to support the aircraft.

“A number of flights were diverted. The runway is now open and operating as normal.”

Gatwick runway closure causes flight delays

Despite the runway only being closed for around 20 minutes, Sky News reports that it caused a major knock-on effect for other flights.

They said: "Thousands now face disruption, with Gatwick's website showing delays to at least 13 flights that were due to take off between 2pm and 3.30pm."

Alongside that, travel expert Simon Calder told Sky News at least a dozen flights have been diverted, with one flight from Dubai forced to land in Brussels after circling Gatwick.

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Some passengers will need to wait hours for their flight, as a WizzAir journey to Malaga is expected to take off at 7.30pm, which is a few hours after its initial departure time of 3.25pm.

Additionally, a British Airways flight to Dubrovnik, which was supposed to take off at 4.45pm, has been delayed until 8.45pm.

Gatwick Airport are advising passengers to speak to their airline for the latest information on their flight.