Hot air balloon disrupts Gatwick flights

News at Gatwick 15/04/2012

Malaysia Airlines ban children from first class : April 2012 : Virgin’s emergency landing was due to ‘triggered alarms’

Several flights to and from Gatwick airport were delayed at the weekend due to a hot air balloon in local airspace.

A spokeswoman from the south London gateway said in a statement on Friday that flights were suspended from arriving or departing from the facility for around 30 minutes beginning at 8.45am after air traffic control spotted the balloon near Horsham, a town situated around 12 miles to the south of Gatwick.

Officials said at least five flights were affected and the decision to delay them was taken because one of the flight paths to Gatwick goes very close to the Horsham area. Authorities continue to investigate the origin of the balloon and why the incident occurred, according to reports.

Gatwick is one of the busiest air gateways in the United Kingdom, last year the facility hosted some 34 million passengers.

The news came alongside a separate hot air balloon incident, during which 10 people managed to avoid injuries in North Yorkshire. Authorities said that the aircraft had crashed into power lines just before 9:00 on Friday morning near West Haddlesey in Selby. A North Yorkshire police spokesman said that electric officials had been called to repair damage to the power supply and that all ten people were unharmed.

Malaysia Airlines ban children from first class : April 2012 : Virgin’s emergency landing was due to ‘triggered alarms’

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