While browsing, I came upon
newswatcher's post in the Airlines, Airports & Routes section on the subject.
"Clear off, you're too early!
From the "Daily Mail"(30/7)
"EIGHT jumbo jets ......... were told they couldn't land at Heathrow because they had arrived too early. With both runways out of action, the long-haul planes - all carrying hundreds of passengers - were forced to circle the airport before one was finally opened. Last night officials claimed the early-hours incident was routine. But it is still being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
It began at 4.05am on Saturday when a Qantas flight from Singapore - a 747 with up to 400 passengers - arrived an hour early in UK airspace 50 miles from Heathrow. Flights are not due to start arriving before 4.30am, when the night flight curfew ends.
Airport maintenance work was still taking place so the pilot had to circle while the northern runway was hurriedly cleared and swept.
The plane eventually came in at 4.47am, by which time another seven jets had arrived early and were ready to land, a source claimed.
These are understood to have been four British Airways flights and planes owned by Virgin, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. BAA, which runs Heathrow, said these planes also landed as usual on the northern runway.
Officials claimed last night that there were no safety issues because planes have enough fuel to carry them to another airport in an emergency.
A BAA Heathrow spokesman said: 'We work closely with air traffic control to ensure runways are safely ready each morning for the start of Heathrow's flying schedule.
At no time was safety compromised.' The National Air Traffic Control Service said the runways had operated normally.
It said the pilot decided to wait until after the night curfew ended before landing to avoid any possible fines.
But last night a senior aviation insider said: 'In practical terms, the airport just wasn't there. It was a cock-up'.
The planes would have been relatively low on fuel but they would not have needed an instant, emergency landing." "