Thousands of holidaymakers in turmoil as Gatwick Airport temporarily suspended all flights after a plane with hot brakes became stuck on the runway

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All flights at Gatwick Airport were temporarily suspended this afternoon after a British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing on the runway.

The Boeing 777 was seen preventing all other flights from taking off from the runway, causing travel chaos for thousands of British holidaymakers.

Video footage taken by passengers showed fire engines driving to the stationary vehicle and passengers being informed that the takeoff had been “aborted”.

Flight G-VIIT BA2279 was scheduled to depart for Vancouver this afternoon before being forced to make a “high-speed emergency landing.”

A statement from the airport said the plane was abandoned “because it overheated during takeoff.”

According to travel expert Simon Calder, at least twelve flights were diverted, including an Emirates A380 flight from Dubai that had to land in Brussels instead.

It is not known how many flights were affected on what was the busiest flight day of the year so far.

According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the airport’s runway had to be closed after an “aborted takeoff.” The website reported the closure at 12:53 p.m. and the reopening at 1:14 p.m.

“Safety is our top priority and the airport fire service was immediately on site to attend to the aircraft,” a spokesman added. “A number of flights were diverted. The runway is now open and can be used as normal.”