Emergency services were seen responding to an incident near the airport as plumes of smoke rose above the runway this afternoon
19:31, 03 Aug 2026Updated 19:45, 03 Aug 2026
The Airport’s fire service responding to the incident(Image: Submitted)
Plumes of smoke were seen rising above Manchester Airport today as fire services rushed to a scene earlier this afternoon (August 3).
Fire engines were spotted on the runway at the airport as both Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Manchester Airport’s fire crew responded to the incident in the Woodhouse Park area in Wythenshawe.
The Airport’s fire service responded to reports of a house fire in the area. Smoke has now cleared, the Manchester Evening News understands.
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Plumes of smoke were seen above the airport at around 2.30pm and lasted for around 30 minutes, according to an eyewitness.
Multiple fire engines and emergency response vehicles were present at the airport until the smoke eventually disappeared.
Mohammed Umar, who was plane watching at the airport with his daughter, said: “We were at the South Side runway viewpoint and we just saw loads of smoke coming from the building that you can see in the pictures.
“Then all of a sudden we’ve seen these two fire engines coming from the left going towards the building, and then obviously they disappeared around the building.
“Then half an hour later, we saw them exiting the same way they came. We don’t know if it was a fire or what it was, whether they put it out or whether it was just some smoke from a plane engine, we don’t know.
“We didn’t see any fire, but we saw the smoke. I’m into photography and I was plane watching with my daughter at the South Side runway.
“From where we first saw the smoke, it was probably about a good 25 to 30 minutes at least before it was put out, I would say.
“My daughter could smell something a little bit more like a chemical smell. The smoke started to disappear slowly and then eventually it was just normal.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “Shortly after 2.35pm on Monday 3 August, four fire engines from Cheadle, Moss Side, Wythenshawe and Whitehill fire stations were called to attend a house fire on Mottershead Road, Manchester.
“Crews arrived quickly and used three hose reels jets and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire. Firefighters were in attendance for approximately two hours.”