Ireland

Flights resume after fire at Dublin Airport

Airport fire crews were tasked to the hangar after the fire was reported at around 7am. Picture by Dublin Fire Brigade <a href="https://twitter.com/DubFireBrigade" title="https://twitter.com/DubFireBrigade">@DubFireBrigade </a>
Airport fire crews were tasked to the hangar after the fire was reported at around 7am. Picture by Dublin Fire Brigade @DubFireBrigade Airport fire crews were tasked to the hangar after the fire was reported at around 7am. Picture by Dublin Fire Brigade @DubFireBrigade
By Ed Carty and Press Association

FLIGHTS have resumed at Dublin Airport after a fire in a hangar was brought under control.

Despite initial warnings that flights in and out of Dublin could be delayed by several hours, possibly up to midday, air traffic controllers were preparing to clear backlogs before 9am.

Services in and out of the airport were suspended after the incident, with officials urging passengers to contact their airline for the most up-to-date information.

Airport fire crews were tasked to the hangar after the blaze was reported at around 7am.

The fire broke out in the roof of hangar three towards the rear of the airport grounds and it was contained in just over an hour.

The DAA confirmed 10 flights due to land at the airport while the fire was being fought were diverted, with six landing at Shannon and four in Belfast.

Three services were cancelled.

The Dublin Airport Authority said its own crews were first on scene with other units from Dublin dispatched.

The airport said the fire was in a restricted area and no-one had been injured.

"The fire is in a hangar in a restricted area of the airport, which is separate from the passenger facilities," the airport said.

The last plane to land at the airport was a Ryanair flight from Leeds Bradford Airport at 7.26am while the last departure before the airport closed was also a Ryanair service to Wroclaw at 7.25am and Belfast City Airport said it is assisting with diverted flights.

Hangar three is used by Eirtech Aviation, an aircraft maintenance firm. Two planes were inside the unit at the time, both short-haul 146 aircraft known as Whisper jets. CityJet later confirmed one of its Whisper jets - planes used to fly into airports in built-up areas such as London City - was in the hangar at the time but was not damaged.

All Eirtech staff were evacuated from the hangar for several hours after the fire broke out.