Services have resumed at Jersey Airport after a fire broke out yesterday (July 14) in a nearby hotel on the channel island.
The BBC broadcast footage of thick black smoke bellowing from the Broadlands Hotel and surrounding workshops, some of which reportedly contained acetylene cylinders and other chemicals.
No injuries were reported, but airport authorities took the decision to cancel all departures and arrivals due to the threat of explosions as well as poor visibility caused by the smoke.
A 200-metre fire exclusion zone has now been scaled back to 100-metres, according to operations director Sandy Sawyer, enabling both runways to resume normal operations.
Sawyer commented: “All flights are either landing or due to travel now, and things are getting back on track. There is a low cloud base, but we have 1,500 metres visibility at the moment and the conditions are workable. Things are getting back to normal.”
At the height of the drama some 35 firefighters were battling the blaze, which is believed to have started at a recycling plant at the rear of the site.
