Fire briefly shuts Sydney airport
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Sydney Airport was briefly closed to aircraft Friday afternoon after a small fire forced the evacuation of its control tower.
An electrical fault sparked the blaze shortly before 4:30 p.m. local time, forcing five air traffic controllers to leave the tower. Controllers quickly resumed work in an old control tower at the airport in southeast Sydney.
Tens of thousands of international and domestic passengers were using the airport Friday as they flew into or out of Sydney for Christmas.
Nobody was injured in the fire. But Richard Dudley, a spokesman for the government body responsible for air traffic control throughout the country, said delays were to be expected into the evening.
“Until we can ascertain … what sort of damage has taken place in the tower, there will be some delays,” he told Australian television’s Network Ten.
