A Virgin Atlantic flight with 447 passengers and 15 crew has landed safely at London Gatwick Airport after discovering a potential problem with its landing gear.

Flight VS43 had departed for Las Vegas earlier when it was forced to return to London.

After circling over the Bristol Channel for several hours to burn off fuel, the plane made a safe, but bumpy, landing at London Gatwick.

The runway at the airport was closed for a number of hours as a precaution, with a number of flights cancelled or diverted.

In a statement, Gatwick Airport said: “The airport is now facilitating inbound and outbound flights but it will take some time for normal service to resume.

“We advise passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flight.

“Updates will also be posted on the Gatwick website and on Twitter.”

The 13-year-old Boeing 747 was eventually forced to land with three of its four landing gear apparatus functioning.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger said: “I am very pleased to confirm that all customers and crew have now disembarked the VS43 flight to Las Vegas, which returned to Gatwick airport this afternoon following a problem with one of the landing gear.

“I understand that this will have been a very upsetting situation for the customers involved, and for their friends and family, and will have significantly disrupted people’s holiday plans.

“We will make sure they are well looked after this evening, and will be operating a special flight tomorrow for everyone who would like to continue their journey.”