Flight operations were halted at London Gatwick Airport on Tuesday evening after an Emirates A380, (Reg.A6-EUN) operating flight EK9, was stuck on the runway. The plane, which was en route from Dubai, landed safely but was unable to clear the runway due to a gear fault. The incident caused the main runway to be closed for an hour, which resulted in diverting other flights to London Luton, London Stansted, and Birmingham. The runway was eventually reopened, but the backlog of flights meant that some passengers were still waiting to depart several hours later.
The cause of the gear fault is that the aircraft suffered a hydraulic leak and loss of nose wheel steering. Emirates said that the aircraft was being inspected by engineers. The airline said that it was "continuing to work with Gatwick Airport to minimize the impact on our customers." This is not the first time that an A380 has been stuck on the runway at Gatwick. In 2015, an Air France A380 was unable to turn off the runway after landing due to a similar gear fault. That incident also caused the main runway to be closed for a short time.
Airbus A380s are the largest passenger planes in the world, so it is not surprising that they can cause significant disruption when they are grounded. It is fortunate that the Emirates A380 was able to land safely.
Update: The Emirates A380 was eventually towed off the runway and the main runway was reopened. The airline said that all passengers were able to disembark safely and that their luggage would be transferred to another flight.