London Gatwick Airport resumed normal operations on Friday afternoon after a Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787 rejected its take-off, prompting a temporary closure of the runway and the diversion of incoming flights.
Norse Atlantic Airways flight Z0701, scheduled to operate to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), was understood to have rejected its take-off roll on runway 26L.
Flight tracking data showed emergency vehicles surrounding the aircraft on the runway following the incident, while arriving flights were diverted to alternative airports during the disruption.
Gatwick Airport confirmed that the runway had been closed for approximately 50 minutes because of a technical issue involving the departing aircraft.
The airport said the aircraft was subsequently towed away from the runway, allowing operations to resume shortly afterwards once a full safety inspection had been completed.
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.”
The temporary closure affected arriving traffic, with flights redirected to other airports while the runway remained unavailable.
Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 later confirmed on X that Gatwick Airport was “back in action” after the Norse Boeing 787 carried out a rejected take-off and remained disabled on the runway for a short period.
Operations have since resumed following the safety inspection, with Gatwick reiterating that passenger safety and security remain its top priority.
