Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Manchester Airport fire in tunnel closes runway

Some delays expected

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 28 February 2017 21:44 GMT
Comments
Photos shared on social media show heavy smoke billowing from the underpass
Photos shared on social media show heavy smoke billowing from the underpass (@onlydale/Twitter)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A car fire in a tunnel under Manchester Airport has led to the closure of a runway.

Officials said all flights had been diverted to runway two as a precaution due to the smoke and some planes are delayed.

Firefighters are battling the blaze after it broke out in Wilmslow Road, which runs beneath runway one.

Photos shared on social media show heavy smoke billowing from the underpass.

A Manchester Airport spokeswoman said that seven flights had been diverted elsewhere so far because of the closure, and that there were delays for the "majority" of flights.

She said: "There is a fire in the road tunnels that go underneath the runway. The fire brigade are on scene at the moment dealing with the fire but due to the smoke we've moved our operations from runway one to everything on runway two.

"We're just waiting on updates from the fire service before we can assess when to reopen."

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said a van had caught fire.

The fire brigade attended and put the blaze out, she said.

Passengers have been advised to check the status of their flight with their airline.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in