Originally Posted by
22/04
Any one date that photo- I'm guessing 1975/6.
Best I can come up with is 16/12/75. I was working a late shift (1430-2300) and suspect the photo was taken in the morning. The Lear Jet G-BBEE was present along with 125 G-BCJU and the Aer Turas Brit. Euralair Lear Jet F-BSRL was there which may be the one behind G-BBEE. The NLM F27 and the BA Tristar must have gone already. The only airliner diversions were 6 BA Tridents during the time I was there.
The previous day the airport took a total of, I believe, 47 diverted flights which was the highest in one day at the time (this number probably included executive aircraft). At least 18 were BA aircraft, plus an Alitalia DC-8-43, 4 Aer Lingus 737's, 4 K.L.M. DC-9's, a SATA Caravelle, a Sabena 737, an S.A.S. DC-9, an Air Alsace Corvette and an R.A.F. HS748. That is all that I recorded airline-wise while I was there (1415-2130).
The most diverted flights in one day was on 8/1/87 when the figure hit (I think) 72. I remember a BA 757 and an Olympic A300 getting parked on the eastern taxiway for several hours with their pax still on board.