Passengers on an EasyJet flight ended up stranded on the tarmac at Stansted Airport for more than two hours in the early hours of the morning after their aircraft was diverted there and could not be refuelled. The service had been travelling from Rome to Gatwick, but was among several flights rerouted after a British Airways aircraft temporarily blocked Gatwick’s runway.
According to the airline, the problem at Stansted was compounded by the lack of ground handling staff for the unscheduled arrival. EasyJet said it was working on onward travel arrangements while the aircraft remained unable to refuel, and apologised for the disruption and the delay in getting passengers off the plane. Travellers were eventually allowed to disembark after 03:00, but many had to sort out their own transport at a time when public transport options were limited.
One passenger, Sammy, said she did not get home until about 06:00 because baggage handling was also delayed. She described waiting in the baggage area while information disappeared from the screen and said staff later told passengers there was nobody available to retrieve the luggage. In the end, some travellers were told they could either wait for their bags or have them delivered later. EasyJet said customers would be reimbursed for onward travel costs.
An aviation source told the BBC the aircraft may have been running so low on fuel after circling Gatwick that it needed to land urgently, with Stansted chosen instead of EasyJet’s bases at Southend or Luton. The source said the airline’s lack of a Stansted base and no ground support there made it difficult to provide basic services, including deboarding and refuelling. The reason it took so long to resolve the situation was not clear.
The disruption began after a BA plane reportedly had a landing gear issue and briefly blocked a runway at Gatwick. Emergency services met the aircraft as a precaution, while British Airways said it landed safely and passengers got off normally. Gatwick said the runway was closed for a short period because of a technical issue, causing a small number of diversions, with most flights later returning to the airport.
Source: bbc.co.uk
