Passenger planes collide on the ground at Heathrow Airport

No passenger injuries were reported following the incident, which is now under investigation

The Virgin Atlantic and British Airways aircraft surrounded by emergency vehicles at Heathrow in an image posted to social media site X. PA

A Virgin Atlantic plane under tow at Heathrow Airport near London struck a stationary British Airways aircraft on Saturday.

No passenger injuries were reported following the incident, which damaged an aircraft stabiliser and is now under investigation.

The empty Virgin Boeing 787-9 plane had reportedly just completed a flight and was being towed to another part of the airport.

Video posted on social media shows a Virgin Atlantic plane's wing touching a British Airways aircraft, surrounded by emergency services.

Virgin said it has launched an investigation into the incident.

The aircraft has been taken out of service and engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on it, the airline added.

The British Airways plane is being assessed by engineers, the company said.

It said it has provided an alternative aircraft to "limit the impact on our customers".

A Virgin Atlantic representative said: "We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft while being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.

"The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.

"We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time.

"We've commenced a full and thorough investigation and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service."

It is understood Virgin Atlantic's flying programme has not been disrupted by the incident.

The tow movement was provided by a ground handling company under contract by Virgin Atlantic.

A representative for British Airways said: "One of our aircraft, while stationary at Heathrow earlier today, was involved in a collision with another airline's jet, which was being towed from a stand at the time.

"Our aircraft is being assessed by our engineering teams and we have provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on our customers."

A representative for the airport said: "We are working alongside emergency services and our airline partners in response to an incident involving two aircraft on the ground earlier today.

"At present, no passenger injuries have been reported and we do not anticipate there to be any ongoing impact to airport operations."