Flights at Gatwick Airport were brought to a standstill for nearly an hour after a plane became stuck on the runway.

A Gatwick spokesperson said the runway was closed on Friday afternoon because of a “technical issue with a departing vehicle”.

The airport said the runway was shut for 50 minutes while the plane was towed away before reopening shortly afterwards. Some flights were diverted to other airports including London Stansted and Birmingham.

A spokesperson said: “As always, safety and security is our number one priority.”

Flights arriving at the West Sussex airport on Friday afternoon were showing some delays, ranging from 20 minutes to two hours.

Many departures, including those to major European tourist destinations, were also delayed.

Travellers can check Gatwick’s official website for more information.

Tracking website Flightradar24 showed just after 16:00 BST on Friday that 40% of flights were delayed, with 1% cancelled.

It listed an average delay time of just over 60 minutes.

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