Heathrow reopens after Ethiopian 787 Dreamliner fire

London’s main airport resumes operation after it was shut down following fire on Boeing 787 run by Ethiopian Airlines.

London, UK - Heathrow, London’s main airport, has now been reopened after both its runways were shut down following a fire on Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Ethiopian Airlines.

Flights are now operating, but will be subject to delay, the airport said on its website on Friday.

Earlier, all arrivals and departures were briefly suspended to deal with the fire which broke out while the plane was parked at a remote stand.

“A Boeing 787 Dreamliner suffered an on board internal fire,” a Heathrow spokeswoman said.

There were no passengers aboard the plane.

Television footage showed the Dreamliner surrounded by foam used by firefighters.

The lightweight new plane suffered a series of battery fires earlier this year, causing it to be grounded until Boeing came up with a fix. It was not clear if the fire was related to the battery.

Boeing said it was aware of the fire and that had people on the ground working to understand the causes of it.

Doug Adler, a spokesman for Boeing told Al Jazeera: “We’re aware of the event. We have Boeing personnel on the ground at Heathrow and are working to fully understand and address this.”

The Dreamliner, which was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in November last year, arrived at Heathrow from Addis Ababa in the early hours of Friday, according to the Flight radar monitoring website. The plane was due to make the return journey later on Friday.

Source: Al Jazeera and News Agencies