Jan. 6 (UPI) — Flights were unable to land or take off at Gatwick airport in England for just under two hours Thursday morning after a computer glitch disrupted travel.
Air controllers were forced to shut down a malfunctioning IT system, guiding flights under a backup system from about 7:25 a.m. to 9:10 a.m., with many planes left circling during the “switch down.”
Three flights also were diverted to London.
Passengers traveling from Antigua and Tampa on British Airways were landed at Heathrow airport 45 miles away.
An EasyJet flight from Belfast was also redirected, heading to Luton airport, which is on the other side of London.
“Some flights may still experience delays however and passengers are advised to check their flight status with the airline,” a Gatwick spokesperson said according to The Guardian.
About 300 flights were expected Thursday at Gatwick, which was the busiest single-runway airport in the world in 2019.