UK's Heathrow Airport Control Tower Evacuated; Fire Alarm Reportedly Goes Off

Published: 7/18/2018, 1:26:51 PM EDT
UK's Heathrow Airport Control Tower Evacuated; Fire Alarm Reportedly Goes Off
An aircraft takes off from Heathrow airport in west London Sept. 2, 2014. (Andrew Winning/Reuters/File Photo)

An air traffic control tower at London’s Heathrow Airport was evacuated Wednesday following an alarm, disrupting several flights.

“There has been a fire alarm activation on the airfield, which emergency services are currently responding to. We’re sorry for the delay, hopefully we’ll have more information for you soon,”the airport tweeted.

It was then reported that the fire alarm was activated.

“We apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused,” a spokeswoman for the airport also told Reuters. “Emergency services responded using our regular safety procedures, and our operations have started to resume.”
Reports indicated that activity at the airport was brought to a standstill. Some flights were forced to divert to Gatwick and Stansted airports in the United Kingdom, the BBC reported. Some had to return to their original destinations.

Heathrow Airport is considered among Europe's busiest airports.