A grass fire broke out at London Heathrow Airport’s (LHR) 27L runway on Aug. 6, 2026, triggering an emergency service’s response and brief flight disruptions. The 27L, one of Heathrow’s two runways, was closed while the London Fire Brigade tended to the scene.
Flight disruptions
The fire at Heathrow Airport was extinguished and the runway reopened on the same day just after 6:00 p.m. Some flight disruptions, including diversions, were reported.
Aviation News UK reported that 18 flights were diverted to other British airports, including Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham at the time of the incident, with no confirmation if this was directly caused by the fire.
British Airways said on X:
“Due to an incident at London Heathrow the airport temporarily had to close one of its runways. This resulted in a reduction in the number of flights able to land and take-off, which has caused disruption to some services already this evening”
Grass fires
London Fire Brigade crews from the local areas of Hayes, Heathrow, and Feltham extinguished the fire at Heathrow Airport while the runway was shut, and reported that around one hectare of grass was destroyed as a result.
This comes as the United Kingdom experiences frequent heatwaves this summer, with dry conditions and temperatures up to 37 degrees Celsius.
Grass fires are caused by grass drying under hot weather, which becomes highly flammable and susceptible to igniting fast-spreading blazes.
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