Delays at Gatwick after plane makes emergency landing Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 on the runway at Gatwick Airport after it made an a full emergency landing. Photograph: Lorna Willson/PA Flights in and out of Gatwick airport were suspended for nearly two hours on Monday when a Virgin Atlantic flight with 299 passengers and 13 crew made an emergency landing after a "technical problem" on board the Airbus 330-300. Some reports said there had been smoke in the cockpit and "a small fire on board." Passengers slid down emergency chutes to escape the aircraft. The airline said the captain had decided to evacuate the plane immediately after touching down on the runway "as a precautionary measure." There were four minor injuries. A statement from Virgin Atlantic said: "Our teams at Gatwick are now offering full support, looking after our passengers and assisting with their immediate requirements. Virgin Atlantic is working closely with the authorities to establish the cause of this incident. The safety and welfare of our crew and passengers is Virgin Atlantic's top priority. Richard Branson, the airline's boss, tweeted: "Very sorry to all passengers on board VS27, the staff @virginatlanticare doing everything they can to look after everybody. More info soon. West Sussex fire and rescue service said it has been called to reports of a "small fire on board an aircraft," which had made a full emergency landing. A spokeswoman said six fire appliances were called to the scene. Liam Moore, a passenger on the flight, told the BBC everybody was "really shaken up." He said: "We were on the plane and everything seemed fine. Then the pilot came on the Tannoy about 10 minutes into the flight and said we would have to do an emergency landing. It all happened so quickly. We landed and suddenly all the doors flung open and the emergency slides were inflated. We then had to slide down the shoots, some people got cuts and grazes from the slide. Thousands of passengers faced delays and disruption. Some planes had been taxiing for take off as the Virgin plane, which had taken off from Gatwick bound for Orlando, Florida, at 10.48am, touched down again at 12.17pm. Emergency services rushed to the plane and incoming flights were diverted to other airports including Stansted in Essex, while other flights bound for Gatwick that had not yet departed were also delayed. Flights at Gatwick resumed at about 2pm but knock-on delays were expected to disrupt travel for some time. British Airways warned customers: "Flight delays, diversions and cancellations are expected so if you are due to travel to or from London Gatwick, please check the status of your flight before leaving for the airport." And easyJet's website said its flights were experiencing significant disruption and recommended passengers check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport.