Oil spillage on Gatwick runway delays flights

The runway was closed at around 10.15 am and did not reopen until 11.40 am.

Details of the spillage and its cause were not disclosed, but reports suggested oil had leaked from a jet on landing.

At least 19 incoming flights to Gatwick Airport were diverted, while dozens of others were delayed because of the temporary closure, and passengers travelling to and from Gatwick from Jersey Airport faced long delays and diverted flights as a knock-on effect of the runway spillage.