A runway at Heathrow Airport was temporarily blocked by a plane suffering a technical fault preventing planes from taking off as an aircraft was towed from the taxiway.
United Airlines flight UA924 from Washington DC to Heathrow, that was held in the air, declared an emergency due to low fuel levels forcing it to be diverted Gatwick Airport instead.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “For a matter of minutes one of the runways was out of service as an aircraft was towed from the taxiway. Heathrow is now operating as normal.”
Aviation enthusiasts on Twitter were quick to point out that a British Airways flight was stopped on the runway for a while, before moving onto the taxiway.
BBC News Correspondent Helena Wilkinson took to twitter, saying: “At Heathrow airport – my flight delayed – reading reports take-offs have been halted … not sure if accurate but don’t know what’s going on.”
Many people on social media began presuming the worst after yesterday it was reported that a hotel near the airport was closed to the public as it was designated a coronavirus quarantine centre.
But BBC transport correspondent Tom Burridge was quick to point out: “Any reports that brief incident at Heathrow were linked to Coronavirus are FALSE. A plane had to be towed from taxi area so take-off runway was closed for a matter of minutes“.
