Passengers at Heathrow Airport could be set for hours of delays after it was forced to close one of its runways following a grass fire.
The blaze this evening has reportedly suspended several flights as flyers brace for travel chaos.
The airport was reportedly set to operate on single runways for the foreseeable.
Runway 27L has since been reopened after numerous fire engines put out the flames.
A spokesperson said on X: ‘Due to a grass area fire 27L has had to be temporarily closed and therefore we will be 27R single runway operations UFN.
‘We are now expecting to get runway 27L back at 18:45hrs. We’ll be departing on the southern runway 27L and arriving on runway 27R. Sorry for the inconvenience.’
Heathrow Airport closed one of its runways after a grass fire broke out (stock image)
A photograph taken from inside the terminal shows billows of smoke in the sky above the tarmac.
The passenger wrote: ‘There’s a fire near the runway at Heathrow which is delaying all flights.’
One person commented below the image that they had been stuck waiting on the plane.
Another left waiting said: ‘In airport. Pretty much all flights delayed still, some more than others.’
This is a breaking news story. More to come.
