Passengers held on diverted plane for nine hours

The Air India flight, from Mumbai to Heathrow, was diverted to Gatwick at 8am because of foggy conditions.

The plane stayed on the tarmac while waiting for a crew to arrive to complete the journey and only finally left at just before 5pm.

Passenger Rahul Joglekar said some people had become “very angry” on board and that the passengers included small children and a heavily-pregnant woman.

He said: “Passengers have been asking the crew members: ‘Why don’t you let us off because we are at Gatwick already?’.” Mr Joglekar added that there had been little information from the crew.

Sussex Police were called to the scene to prevent a possible breach of the peace but said the passengers had been “positive”.

A spokesman for Gatwick Airport said the decision to keep the passengers on board was the responsibility of the airline. Passenger Victoria Denham said she would be complaining to the airline and seeking compensation for the delay.

Miss Denham, from Rotherham, who was returning to the UK from Thailand via India, said when they landed at 8.10am they were told they were waiting for fog to clear.

More announcements followed saying the fog had not cleared to regulation levels.

“People started to get quite restless and talk to staff at the airplane door,” she said.

Announcements became sketchier and promised refreshments did not materialise but “in truth people were very patient.”