Flights, including British Airways, were delayed and cancelled at Heathrow last night after a wildfire near one of its runways.
A wildfire near Heathrow Airport closed one of its runways during the height of the summer holiday travel.
One runway was closed and flights were affected at the UK’s busiest airport on Thursday after a grass fire.
The fire, believed to have been within the safety perimeter, grounded some flights and caused delays and cancellations.
Firefighters were alerted shortly after 5.30pm, and found the flames burning through around one hectare of grassland.
The closure of the Southern Runway S7L left the travel hub with only one runway, forcing some flights to divert to other airports.
Heathrow Airport said: ‘Earlier today, our teams acted quickly to safely resolve a small grass fire adjacent to the Southern Runway. Thanks to their swift response, both runways are now fully operational.
‘A huge thank you to everyone involved. We apologise for any disruption and thank passengers for their patience and understanding. We wish everyone a safe onward journey.’
While the second runway has since reopened, the incident is having a knock-on effect on later flights, with several listed as cancelled.
British Airways flights to Marseille, Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Nice, Munich, Lisbon and Milan appear as cancelled on Flightradar24.
Passengers caught in the disruption aired their frustration on social media, with people asking BA why their flights were axed.
One dad said his teenage daughter was on a flight from Toulouse to London, but the plane was diverted to Gatwick.
He wrote on X: ‘British Airways what are you doing with BA 371 from Toulouse to LHR my 15 year old is on the aircraft sat at GTW. nobody seems to know what what’s going on.
‘Is my child getting off at Gatwick because I’m trying to arrange for her to be collected.’
GB News presenter Alex Armstrong said he’s been stuck on a plane from Manchester to London, which was forced to return after the fire and as the aircraft was running too low on fuel to wait to land elsewhere in London.
After returning to Manchester, the pilot then announced they received ‘more than enough fuel.’
He added: ‘Now have to wait another hour to take off from Manchester. No refreshments handed out. Plane is boiling.’
London Fire Brigade said: ‘London Fire Brigade was called to reports of a fire on an area of grass near a runway at Heathrow Airport.
‘Around one hectare of grassland was destroyed by the fire. Crews from the Brigade were supported by the airport’s fire service as they worked to bring the incident under control.
‘The Brigade was first called about the incident at 1737, and crews had the fire under control by 1807. Firefighters from Heathrow, Hayes and Feltham fire stations attended the scene.’
Flight disruption can force airlines to cancel services if aircraft and crew are in the wrong places, and moving them would exceed permitted flight times for pilots.
