Gatwick closed as passengers tell of 'hair-raising' emergency landing

Britain’s busiest holiday airport was closed to all flights for more than an hour and a half today after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

A Cardiff-bound Dash 8 aircraft, with 46 passengers on board, had to put down at Gatwick Airport, to the south of London.

All the passengers and crew were able to disembark safely from the aircraft, which was flying in from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

The plane remained parked just off the runway and the runway was shut from around 11.25am until just before 1pm. It is believed the aircraft may have suffered a smoke problem.

Stories started to emerge tonight from inside the troubled plane, with one passenger describing the "hair-raising" moment the cabin began to fill with smoke.

Shayne Krige, 36, who was one of 46 passengers on board, said he held hands with his wife as smoke gathered in the roof of the cabin.

He said there were no individual oxygen masks, but a steward went up and down the aisle offering air from a bottle. Most passengers remained calm as the smoke thickened.

Mr Krige, who is originally from Johannesburg in South Africa but has lived in Paris for 10 years, said: “I could see there was smoke in the cabin. It started collecting along the roof and seemed to be getting thicker.

“The steward put on a mask and started walking down the aisle to find out where there might be a fire.

“One person started to panic but everyone else was really calm. We just listened to what was being said.”

He said he and his wife, Heike Brunner, 36, reassured each other. “We held hands, looked at each other and said everything is going to be OK.

“It was a little bit hair-raising, everything goes through your mind, you are on high alert.

“There was a little moment of panic at first but we were both calm.”

Mr Krige said passengers were not asked to take the brace position for the “standard landing” but there was a “great sense of relief” when the plane touched down safely.

Flybe said in a statement: “The priority landing, at which emergency vehicles were deployed by the airport as a precautionary measure, followed a suspected technical fault.

“All 46 passengers disembarked safely and without incident and will be re-accommodated at the earliest possible opportunity.

“The safety of its passengers and crew is Flybe’s number one priority.”

Alternative travel arrangements to Cardiff for all passengers were being made. Mr Krige, who spoke as he waited to go back to the plane to collect his bags, said he and his wife would be continuing to Wales for their holidays by bus.

“There were a couple of people who said I’m not going back on a plane,” he said. “I would have got into a plane but they haven't asked us to.”

An airport spokesman said: “All 46 passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and there are no reported injuries.

“Passengers were taken to a reception area for welfare assistance. There were four crew members also onboard.

“The runway re-opened at 12.58pm. During the runway closure 11 flights were diverted from London Gatwick.”