Ground vehicle catches fire near British Airways plane at Heathrow airport

Flames and a large black cloud of smoke engulfed the vehicle, spreading to the tail of the plane.

The smoke column was so high it was visible from behind several terminal buildings at the busy airport.

A video of the incident was posted on social media platform X by UB1UB2 West London (Southall), showing the intense flames and smoke rising from the ground vehicle.

A Heathrow plane stair vehicle catches fire while next to a plane (via @avikambo96 @hardy360) #UB1UB2 #London #Heathrow pic.twitter.com/6COXUQFeGC

— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) June 24, 2024

Emergency Response

Heathrow Airport’s fire service responded promptly to the incident, using multiple water jets to extinguish the blaze. Footage showed firefighters battling the flames just yards from the terminal building.

There were no passengers on board the aircraft at the time, and no injuries were reported.

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport confirmed the swift response of the fire service and assured that no passengers were impacted.

British Airways also stated that the emergency services quickly extinguished the fire and reiterated that there were no injuries or customer impacts.

At the time of the fire, passengers were queuing to board a flight to Naples. The aircraft, fortunately, was empty, preventing any potential injuries or evacuation scenarios.

(With inputs from inews, Metro, and Daily Mail)