A Boeing Co Dreamliner flying from Chicago to Poland with 248 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Glasgow, Scotland, yesterday after crew received an alert from the fire protection system in the baggage hold.
Emergency services met the plane from Polish state airline LOT, which had been heading for Warsaw, at 9.35am, Glasgow’s airport said. Other traffic at the airport was not affected.
The plane was cleared as safe and the passengers allowed to disembark, an airport spokesman said. More checks on the fire alarm were being carried out.
The diversion of the LOT flight comes just days after the US Federal Aviation Administration called for parts upgrades on the Dreamliner to ensure better fire suppression in its cargo hold and an electrical equipment bay.
The emergency landing of the plane was caused by a glitch in the fire protection system
Any findings of technical fault would add to earlier problems experienced by the 787 Dreamliner – Boeing’s estimated $32 billion bet on new technology, which entered commercial service three years ago.
The global 787 fleet was grounded from January to April last year after two lithium-ion batteries burned out in separate incidents in Japan and the United States. The main lithium battery is housed in the electrical equipment bay that was the area of the plane involved in the FAA action, a proposed rule published on Tuesday and agreed to by Boeing.
Boeing said the FAA action did not involve the battery. The FAA called for improving foam-like plugs in the area of the battery to prevent Halon, a fire-fighting chemical, from escaping in the event of a fire. Boeing said it agreed with the plan to install the upgraded parts on about 88 aircraft, known as the 787-8, which posed no immediate safety concern.
Separately yesterday, German airline Air Berlin said it had cancelled orders for Boeing aircraft worth about $5 billion at list prices as it strives to curb spending and return to profitability.
The cancellations included 15 787-8s and 18 Next-Generation 737-800s, Boeing said.
Barbara Pijanowska-Kuras, a LOT spokeswoman, said: “The emergency landing of the plane was caused by a glitch in the fire protection system. There was no fire or smoke on board.”