London Heathrow Airport experienced brief operational disruptions today after a grass fire broke out adjacent to runway 27L, forcing a temporary shutdown of the southern airstrip.
LONDON — Airport emergency services acted rapidly to contain the blaze, which erupted on a grassy patch abeam the runway. To maintain safety while fire crews responded, airfield managers suspended all operations on 27L and shifted London Heathrow to single-runway operations.
By 12:00 PM local time, air traffic controllers successfully redirected all arriving and departing flights to runway 27R. Despite the sudden bottleneck at one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs, airfield teams controlled the situation within an hour.
By 12:50 PM local time, the fire was fully extinguished, allowing Heathrow to safely reopen runway 27L and return to standard dual-runway operations.
“Earlier today our teams acted quickly to safely resolve a grass fire adjacent to the southern runway,” a Heathrow Airport spokesperson said in a statement. “Thanks to their swift response, the fire was extinguished quickly and both runways are fully operational.”
Flight operations have since normalized, though passengers travelling through Heathrow today are advised to check their flight status with their respective airlines for any minor knock-on delays resulting from the midday operational shift.
