London Heathrow airport’s runways have reopened after a fire on a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet.
Arrivals and departures were suspended after the incident at 16:30 BST, a spokesman for the airport said. No passengers were aboard at the time.
Fifty Dreamliners worldwide were grounded in January after malfunctions with the plane’s lithium-ion batteries.
Boeing later modified the jets with new batteries and flights resumed in April.
The Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner in the Heathrow incident – named the Queen of Sheba – flew from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on the first commercial flight since the grounding.
Pictures of the Heathrow fire showed the Queen of Sheba close to a building and surrounded by fire vehicles. London Fire Brigade said its crews were standing by to assist Heathrow staff.
Fire-retardant foam appeared to have been sprayed at the airliner, but no damage was immediately apparent.
Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner in the Heathrow incident flew from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on the first commercial flight since the grounding
A Heathrow spokesman said: “Heathrow’s runways are now fully open following an earlier fire on board an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft which the airport’s emergency services attended.
“The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand. There were no passengers on board and there are no reported injuries at this time.
“The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand and there were no passengers on board. Arrivals and departures were temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attended to this incident.
“This is a standard procedure if fire crews are occupied with an incident.”
Heathrow reopened shortly before 18:00 BST but is advising passengers to check the status of their flights with the airlines.
Meanwhile, Gatwick airport said it was experiencing minor delays on departing flights as it assisted Heathrow with flights that were diverted.
The battery problems followed production difficulties for the Dreamliner, marketed as a quiet, fuel-efficient aircraft carrying between 201 and 290 passengers on medium-range routes.
It was due to enter passenger service in 2008 but it was not until October 2011 that the first commercial flight was operated by Japan’s All Nippon Airways.
The Dreamliner’s electrical system drives air conditioning and hydraulic functions that are run from compressed air on traditional aircrafts.
British Airways is due to take delivery of the first two of its 24 Dreamliners, and Virgin Atlantic is to get the first of its 16 planes in September 2014.
Boeing shares fell more than 6% on the New York Stock Exchange on news of the fire.
A Boeing spokesman said: “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 first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft returning to service since all 787s were grounded in January is an Ethiopian Airlines commercial flight due to take off from Addis Ababa on Saturday morning.
The 50 planes around the world were grounded due to battery malfunctions that saw one 787 catch fire in the US.
Over the past week teams of Boeing engineers have been fitting new batteries to the aircraft.
This was after aviation authorities approved the revamped battery design.
The Ethiopian Airlines flight is travelling to Nairobi in Kenya.
The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft returning to service since all 787s were grounded in January is an Ethiopian Airlines commercial flight
Each 787 has two of the lithium-ion batteries in question.
In addition to new versions of the batteries which run at a much cooler temperature, the batteries are now enclosed in stainless steel boxes.
These boxes have a ventilation pipe that directly goes to the outside of the plane. Boeing says this means than in the unlikely event of any future fire or smoke, it would not affect the rest of the aircraft.
Boeing said it put 200,000 engineer hours into fixing the problem, with staff working round the clock.
A total of 300 Boeing engineers, pooled into 10 teams, have in the past week been fitting the new batteries and their containment systems around the world.
In addition to the 50 Dreamliners in service with airlines, Boeing has upgraded the 787s it has continued to make at its factory in Seattle since January.
The Dreamliner entered service in 2011. Half of the plane is made from lightweight composite materials, making it more fuel efficient than other planes of the same size.
The two lithium-ion batteries are not used when the 787 is in flight.
Instead they are operational when the plane is on the ground and its engines are not turned on, and are used to power the aircraft’s brakes and lights.
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Airline safety inspectors have found no faults with the battery used on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, Japan’s transport ministry has announced.
Dreamliner’s battery was initially considered the likely source of problems on 787s owned by two Japanese airlines.
The world’s entire fleet of 50 787s has been grounded while inspections are carried out.
Attention has now shifted to the electrical system that monitors battery voltage, charging and temperature.
Transport ministry official Shigeru Takano said “we have found no major quality or technical problem” with the lithium-ion batteries. Shares in GS Yuasa, which makes the batteries, jumped 5% on the news.
“We are looking into affiliated parts makers,” he said.
“We are looking into possibilities.”
Airline safety inspectors have found no faults with the battery used on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner
The safety investigation started after one of the 787s operated by All Nippon Airways made an emergency landing in Japan when its main battery overheated. Earlier, a battery in a Japan Airlines 787 caught fire while parked at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Two weeks ago the US Federal Aviation Administration said both batteries had leaked electrolyte fluid, and there had been smoke damage to parts of the aircraft.
The FAA said airlines must demonstrate battery safety before flights could resume, a statement that effectively meant airlines had to ground their 787s.
Boeing, which competes against Europe’s Airbus, has halted 787 deliveries. Boeing has orders for more than 800 Dreamliners.
The 787 is the first airliner made mostly from lightweight composite materials that boost fuel efficiency. It also relies on electronic systems rather than hydraulic or mechanical systems to a greater degree than any other airliner.
