London's Heathrow airport reopens after Ethiopian Airlines 'Boeing Dreamliner 787' fire

GlobalPost
Updated on

The runways at London's Heathrow airport have reopened following a fire on a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing Dreamliner 787 jet, according to the BBC.

A Heathrow spokesman said both arrivals and departures were suspended after the incident and no passengers were aboard the plane.

The Associated Press reported runways reopened after about an hour and British police said the cause of the fire remains unknown.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident on Friday, a Boeing 787 departing Manchester, England was forced to turn around due to technical problems. Britain's Thomson Airways said passengers on the Florida-bound flight had deplaned safely.

Major delays were expected for travelers at Heathrow one of the world's busiest airports.

Friday's fire is the latest in a string of incidents plaguing the Boeing Dreamliner 787 airliners.

Fifty planes were grounded in January because of battery malfunctions, but the planes were deemed safe after getting new batteries.

Ethiopian Airlines was the first airline to resume its Dreamliner flights in April, three months after the grounding.

Meanwhile, shares in Boeing stock plunged over five percent in New York in afternoon trading, CNBC reported.

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