Gatwick Airport’s runway was closed for 50 minutes on Friday afternoon, with all planes grounded causing chaos for passengers.

A Boeing 787 aircraft from Norse Atlantic Airways was stuck on the runway with a technical issue that is currently being investigated, The Sun reported.

Staff worked to remove the plane and resume flights as quickly as possible, with air traffic tracking website Flightradar24 confirming the airport was back in action around 2.40pm.

But the runway closure has triggered widespread delays, with some incoming EasyJet flights forced to divert to different airports,including London Luton and London Stansted.

Some outgoing flights have been delayed for several hours with disruption to schedules expected throughout the afternoon. There are also widespread delays on inbound flights.

Airport officials have told customers to still travel to the airport for the scheduled time for their flights.

According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft which suffered a problem on the runway, which had been due to fly to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, rejected take-off after reaching speeds of about 138mph due to a problem with the nose gear.

The outlet reported: “The aircraft stopped on the runway and became disabled. The aircraft was towed off the runway about 30 minutes later.

"According to preliminary information The Aviation Herald received, the nose wheels turned 90 degrees."

Emergency response vehicles rushed to the runway to assess the situation, and no injuries have been reported.

A London Gatwick spokesperson said earlier today: “Due to a technical issue with a departing aircraft, our runway is currently closed.

“Our teams are working to move the aircraft and resume operations as quickly as possible. As always, safety and security is our number one priority.”

London Gatwick and Norse Atlantic Airways have been contacted for further comment.