Heathrow forced to close runway due to grassfire - as disruption causes delays and flights to divert
A grassfire forced the closure of one of Heathrow's runways earlier triggering flight delays and diversions.
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The small grassfire broke out around 5pm on Thursday afternoon adjacent to the south runway, a Heathrow spokesperson confirmed.
The fire - which destroyed around one hectare of grassland - has now been extinguished.
The runway is now fully operational but some disruption remains.
According to Aviation News UK, at least 18 inbound flights were diverted as a result of the fire.
Earlier today, our teams acted quickly to safely resolve a small grass fire adjacent to the Southern Runway.
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) August 6, 2026
Thanks to their swift response, both runways are now fully operational. A huge thank you to everyone involved. We apologise for any disruption and thank passengers for… pic.twitter.com/7oCAVIPT2F
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “London Fire Brigade was called to reports of a fire on an area of grass near a runway at Heathrow Airport.
“Around one hectare of grassland was destroyed by the fire.
“Crews from the Brigade were supported by the airport’s fire service as they worked to bring the incident under control.
“The Brigade was first called about the incident at 1737, and crews had the fire under control by 1807. Firefighters from Heathrow, Hayes and Feltham fire stations attended the scene.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Earlier our teams responded to a small grass fire adjacent to the Southern Runway.
"The fire has been extinguished, both runways are operational and flights continue to arrive and depart from the airport.
"We apologise for any disruption caused as a result or while emergency services completed their safety checks but this was essential to ensure the safety of our passengers and colleagues, which is paramount.”
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It comes after a power outage caused widespread disruption across parts of the UK transport network, with supply issues bringing rail services to a halt.
The electricity issue, which came to light shortly after 2pm, is impacting rail services across the Midlands and the north of England, with an electrical failure at a communications centre to blame, National Rail says.
According to the National Rail website, five major rail companies are affected by the outage, with disruption impacting Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales.