Gatwick airport runway shut after emergency landing

Britain's busiest holiday airport was closed to all flights today after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

A Cardiff-bound Dash 8 aircraft, with 46 passengers on board, had to put down at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex.

All the passengers and crew were able to disembark safely from the aircraft, which was flying in from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

The plane remained parked just off the runway and the runway was shut from around 11.25am until just before 1pm.

It is believed the aircraft may have suffered a smoke problem.

An airport spokesman said 11 flights due to land at Gatwick were diverted to other airports, while another 15 were in waiting-to-land "stacking" positions.

He went on: "Three other flights have been held on the ground. We are advising those due to take flights today to turn up as normal.

"This is a busy day but it's not our most busy of the summer. We're hoping that delays will be kept to a minimum."