An airplane fire caused Heathrow Airport to shut down on Friday. No one was on board the aircraft at the time and no injuries were reported.
According to the Telegraph, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner at a parking stand went on fire.
"We can confirm there has been an on-board internal fire involving an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, and the airport's emergency services are in attendance," a Heathrow spokesman told the Telegraph. "The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand. There were no passengers on board and there are no reported injuries at this time.
"Arrivals and departures are temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attend to this incident. This is a standard procedure if fire crews are occupied with an incident," he added.
The aircraft could be seen surrounded by fire engines and covered in flame-retardant foam. According to the Scotland Yard, which released a message on Twitter, the cause of the fire is unknown at this time and is under investigation.
The fire occurred around 4:30 p.m. and the runways were open shortly before 6 p.m. However Heathrow alerted travelers to check the status of the flight before traveling to the London airport as delays were expected.
British Airways also has two Dreamliners. However a spokesperson couldn't say if their two planes would be grounded following the Ethiopian Airlines fire.
"We are getting information on this as we speak," the spokeswoman said.
Boeing was also alerted about the fire. "We're aware of the event. We have Boeing personnel on the ground at Heathrow and are working to fully understand and address this," a Boeing spokesperson said.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is called the world's most efficient aircraft, but it has been through a series of problems since its launch. Dreamliners were grounded around the world for three months due to concerns about overheating lithium-ion batteries.
Eithiopian Airlines was the first carrier to resume Dreamliner flights beginning on April 27.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
