A fire at St. John’s International Airport last night will keep the facility closed to staff and the public at least until Sunday afternoon.

Airport officials held two news conferences on Saturday to provide more details on the fire, which broke out around 11:30 Friday night on the second floor of the main terminal, in the departures lounge.

Staff were first alerted by fire alarms, leading airport and St. John’s firefighters to an area in the ceiling near the new kids’ play space.

There, they discovered some smoke and flames which were quickly extinguished.

Airport CEO Dennis Hogan says everyone was safely evacuated, noting there were fortunately less than 30 people in the airport at the time due to flight cancellations as a result of the weather.

UPDATE: St. John’s International Airport Authority has been working in close connection with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, and our airport partners since a significant event took place on Friday, March 24 at approximately 11:30 pm.

— St. John's Airport (@stjohnsairport) March 25, 2023

While the cause of the fire is under investigation, it’s suspected it could be electrical in nature, given where it started.

Hogan also said flight disruptions on Saturday were due mostly to the storm, as opposed to the fire.

The airport was tentatively due to reopen this evening, but the scope of restoration work has been found to be more significant than first thought.

As a result, reopening of the terminal building has been pushed back to 5 p.m. Sunday, although commercial flights won’t resume until 7 p.m.

Passengers are urged to contact their airline to confirm departure and arrival times.