Passengers stranded while Heathrow Airport are facing runway lighting issues

Tweet: British Airways passengers in New York, Seattle and Boston are told that their flights can not leave because of problems at London Heathrow airport; possibly runway lighting problem. # BA116 to JFK came back to the door after reaching the track. Air flights do not seem to be affected.

Heathrow Airport confirmed that there was "a technical problem with the runway lighting system at the airport" and warned that flights could be canceled or delayed in the morning.

"We have activated our emergency plans and both runways are currently open and operational, but we expect that there will be delays at the airport this morning," said the airport. in an email to CNBC.

"We are working to solve this problem as quickly as possible," he said.

"Stuck in a @britishairways plane on the runway at @JFKairport," tweeted another passenger, ShaanKhan.

Tweet: Stuck in a @britishairways plane on the runway at @JFKairport because #Heathrow was completely stopped. All flights were diverted. #chaos #completehysteria

British Airways did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Heathrow Airport apologized to passengers in a tweet, asking concerned travelers to check the status of their flight.

Tweet: We are currently studying and working to solve a technical problem related to the lighting system of the tracks. Please check the status of your flight with your airline before going to the airport: https://bit.ly/2zhmMco. We are sorry for the impact this will have on our passengers.

Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe, with a daily average of 213,668 passengers in 2017. The number of passengers passing through Heathrow last year was $ 78 million. , according to the airport.

The airport serves 81 airlines and 204 destinations in 85 countries. The JFK New York Airport is one of its most popular destinations, according to the Heathrow website.