Story thread · 8 reports / 6 sources

Wildfire closes Heathrow Airport runway causing flight delays and cancellations

metro.co.uk · 5dShare

Flights, including British Airways, have been delayed and cancelled at Heathrow this evening after a wildfire near one of its runways (Picture: Bloomberg/Getty Images) 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 today 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 apolog

First report: Budget airline grounds two flight routes from London Heathrow Airport — mirror.co.uk, 7d