Gatwick Airport runway closed 'as surface breaks up'

Gatwick Airport closed its main runway after claims the surface started to break up.

Earlier, airport bosses tweeted an apology to anyone affected by the closure, which saw some arrivals diverted to Stansted and Bournemouth.

In a further statement, a spokesman for the airport said the main runway was temporarily closed at 15.48 BST while a reported issue was investigated.

Gatwick's northern runway is being used while investigations continue.

The spokesman said: "We have now switched our operation to the Northern Runway and flights are departing and arriving from Gatwick.

"There will, however, be some delays to flights because of this.

"The safety and security of our airport and passengers is our number one priority, but we'd like to apologise to passengers impacted today."