Plane fire at Heathrow

Ethiopian Airlines has said that the Dreamliner which caught fire at Heathrow had been parked for more than eight hours before smoke was detected.

The US National Transport Saftey Board (NTSB) has said that it is sending a representative to assist in the investigation after a Dreamliner plane fire at Heathrow airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was in contact with Boeing as the company investigates.

"We are aware of the situation and we are in contact with Boeing as they assess the incident," a FAA spokeswoman said.

A spokesperson from Heathrow Airport has issued a statement after the fire onboard an Ethiopian Airlines aeroplane this afternoon. The statement is as follows:

“Heathrow’s runways are now fully re-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.”

Manston Airport in Kent has taken one flight diverted from Heathrow because of the Dreamliner incident. It is on standby to take more.

A Boeing spokesman said:

Boeing shares fell sharply on the New York Stock Exchange after news broke of the Heathrow incident.

The Dreamliner series have been hit by a number of problems throughout development and during its short service.

It should have entered passenger service in 2008 but it was not until October 2011 that the first commercial flight was operated.

A series of battery problems then led to the grounding of the planes earlier this year while modifications were carried out.

Read more: More Dreamliners grounded

Thomson had to scrap plans to use the Dreamliner in May and June, and only received its first plane in June.

British Airways is due to take delivery of the first two of its 24 Dreamliners, while Virgin Atlantic is due to get the first of its 16 Dreamliners in September next year.