It is believed the blaze was sparked west of the runway at around 5 pm by workers building a new fire training ground for the Airport Fire Service.While the Airport firefighters were engaged protecting the facility, the runway was closed to large jets for 58 minutes.
Customer services manager John Such said the fire did not cause serious disruption with just two planes delayed.An area measuring 800 metres by 700 metres was left blackened after crews brought the fire under control by around 10 pm.
No one was hurt and the properties threatened by the fire were saved.
