easyJet Gatwick plane forced to land due to 'fault' as fire engines swarm runway

An easyJet plane was forced to land back at Gatwick Airport on Saturday afternoon. The EZY34AQ flight, which was heading for Bastia, arrived back at the airport and was met by fire crews.

It's believed the plane sustained a hydraulic failure and came to a halt after returning to the runway. A local resident reported on social media that "multiple ambulances" were spotted heading towards Gatwick. It's not believed that anyone was injured in the incident.

A live flight radar shows the plane, an Airbus A321-251NX, back at the airport at 4.24pm. It had reportedly left around an hour and 50 minutes beforehand.

Jack's Flying said in a post on X: "G-UZMI (easyJet UK) diverts back to Gatwick after a hydraulic failure, come to a full stop on the runway surrounded by fire and ground crew."

Local resident Daisy Mitchell replied to the post: "We live in the area. Multiple ambulances are heading towards Gatwick. Not sure if it's related."

It is standard procedure for returning flights to be met on the runway by crews from Gatwick Airport Fire and Rescue Service. The passengers are reportedly set to be taken to their destination via other flights.

An easyjet spokesperson said: "easyJet can confirm that flight EZY8461 from Gatwick to Bastia today 26 July returned to Gatwick and requested a priority landing on arrival into London Gatwick due to a technical issue.

"The aircraft landed normally and was met by emergency services purely as a precautionary measure in line with procedures, and all passengers disembarked normally.

"A replacement aircraft and crew has been arranged for passengers to continue their journey to Bastia today. The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers' guidelines."

It comes less than a month after an easyJet flight was forced to divert back to Manchester Airport. The flight, which was bound for Izmir, left the airport at around 5pm on June 30 before returning around an hour later.

The airline confirmed that the diversion was caused by a "passenger welfare issue". It described the disruption as "out of our control" and an "extraordinary circumstance".

The flight was then delayed until the following day (July 1). easyJet said: "We're sorry that your flight has been delayed overnight. This is due to a passenger welfare issue.

"We are working hard to arrange your new flight for tomorrow. Once again, we're very sorry for the disruption to your travel plans."

EasyJet has been approached for comment on the Gatwick Airport incident.