TAP Flight Returns to Gatwick After Galley Fire

A TAP Air Portugal flight bound for Porto was forced to make an emergency return to London Gatwick Airport on Sunday morning after a fire broke out in the aircraft's galley just minutes after takeoff.

The incident involved flight TP1329, an Airbus A320 carrying up to 180 passengers, which departed from Gatwick's South Terminal around 9:15 a.m. on February 8. As the plane climbed to about 4,300 feet, the crew transmitted a Squawk 7700, the international code signaling a general emergency to air traffic control. Pilots requested an immediate return due to the fire, and the aircraft executed a tight loop south of the airport before landing safely at approximately 9:41 a.m.

Emergency crews met the plane upon touchdown and directed it to a remote stand for a technical inspection, away from the main terminal areas. No injuries were reported among passengers or crew. The flight remained grounded for several hours while engineers assessed the aircraft. It eventually departed Gatwick again at 12:20 p.m. and arrived in Porto at 2:22 p.m. local time, nearly three hours behind its scheduled 11:30 a.m. arrival.

The cause of the galley fire remains under investigation, with aviation...