A ground vehicle caught fire near a British Airways plane parked at Heathrow Terminal 5, causing dramatic scenes at one of the world’s busiest airports. Flames and a towering black cloud of smoke were seen rising from a set of mobile stairs attached to an A320 aircraft, engulfing its tail.
The thick column of smoke was visible from several terminal buildings, highlighting the severity of the incident. Footage captured the moment firefighters battled to extinguish the blaze with water jets just yards from the terminal building.
Heathrow Airport confirmed that no passengers were onboard the aircraft at the time. A spokesperson stated that the airport’s fire service responded promptly to the incident. The aircraft, registered as G-EUYO, was built in 2003. Its last flight before the incident was from Athens, landing at Heathrow at 5:14 PM.
The mobile stairs connected to the rear of the plane were owned by DHL, which manages certain ground operations for British Airways, including short-haul catering. Pictures showed flames emanating from the driver’s compartment of the vehicle, likely originating from the engine.
A British Airways spokesperson commented, “Emergency services quickly extinguished a small fire on a third-party ground vehicle. No customers were impacted, and there were no injuries.”
Latest Updates
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire and assessing any potential impacts on airport operations. Despite the dramatic scenes, the quick response from emergency services ensured that the situation was brought under control swiftly, minimizing disruption at the busy terminal.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
