All arrivals and departures were suspended at Heathrow airport after a fire on an empty Boeing 787 Dreamliner, while Boeing stock fell sharply by 7 per cent after the news.
The airport said that there were no passengers on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane when it caught fire.
Airport staff temporarily closed both runways after the fire was reported at 4.30pm, but the airport was reopened later in the afternoon.
Also on Friday, Thomson Airways said a Dreamliner flying from Manchester to Florida today returned to Manchester after there was a “technical issue”.
A dozen fire trucks arrived on the scene at Heathrow and firefighters were seen standing around the Ethiopian Airlines plane, which was parked on a remote stand.
Fire-retardant foam appeared to have been sprayed, but no damage to the plane was immediately apparent. There is no explanation for the fire as yet but there appeared to be damage to the top of the plane’s fuselage.
The incident is likely to heap more pressure on the Boeing company, which makes the Dreamliner fleet.
It was the second Dreamliner incident on Friday, after an aircraft en route to Florida was forced to return to Manchester. A Thomson Airways spokesman said this was because of a “technical issue”. He added: “Passengers have disembarked and our dedicated team of engineers are now inspecting the aircraft. Our customers will be moved to an alternative aircraft to ensure they get away on their holiday as soon as possible.”
The Dreamliner was grounded for three months earlier this year amid concerns about overheating lithium-ion batteries.
And shares in Boeing fell sharply by 7 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange in the minutes after 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.”
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 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.”
Thomson Airways became the first British carrier to operate the ultra-green aircraft earlier this week, and is taking delivery of eight of the planes.
Thomson had hoped to take delivery of the first of its 787s in time to start Dreamliner operations in May. But a series of battery problems led to the grounding of the plane earlier this year while modifications were carried out.