Manchester Airport fire in tunnel closes runway

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.