Air China plane catches fire in Beijing as crew prepares to board passengers

A fire broke out on an Air China passenger plane at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday as the crew were preparing passengers to board an afternoon flight to Tokyo.

Smoke engulfed the front of the plane that was due to depart at 5.10pm for Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, according to a statement from the airline on its official Twitter-like Weibo account.

“The crew quickly executed the firefighting measures and organised the safe relocation of all passengers,” Air China said in the social media post.

The smoke was coming from the cargo compartment of the Airbus 330 but there were no flames, according to a separate statement issued on the airport’s Weibo account.

It also noted that no passengers were on board the flight at the time.