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LONDON – A British Airways plane had to return to Heathrow Airport to make an emergency landing after black smoke was seen coming from an engine, the BBC reported.
Both runways were closed as passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane’s emergency chutes.
The knock-on effect disrupted flights from Nice to the U.S. that were to transfer via London. Cannes attendees reported to have been forced to re-arrange flights include Richard Dreyfuss, Zachary Quinto and Rosario Dawson.
BA said the Heathrow to Oslo service turned back after a technical fault at about 09:00 BST. Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from the engine.
Both the southern and northern runways have since reopened.
Passengers were evacuated down chutes from the aircraft with emergency services standing by.
BA said the Airbus A319 was carrying 75 passengers — who were safely evacuated — and a “full investigation” would be conducted into the incident.
The airport said 23 flights had been diverted as a result of the incident and advised travelers to contact their airlines to see if their flight has been affected.
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