AFP

LONDON LONDON’S Gatwick airport suspended all flights on Monday after a US-bound passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing after suffering technical difficulties, the airport said.

The Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 to Orlando was carrying 13 crew and 299 passengers when it landed at 12:30pm (1130 GMT) but they were all safely disembarked and the plane was secured, the airline confirmed.

Gatwick, lying to the south of London, is Britain’s second largest air hub after London Heathrow and the the busiest single-runway airport in the world, handling around 33 million passengers a year.

The plane left Gatwick airport at 1048, bound for Orlando (in Florida), and returned at 1230 to make an emergency landing due to reports of a technical issue.

“The emergency services are on the scene, the aircraft is safe and the passengers have been safely disembarked.

Because the aircraft is on the runway all flights in and out of the airport are currently suspended until further notice.” Television footage showed the grey and red aircraft on the runway surrounded by emergency vehicles.