All flights at Luton Airport have been suspended until the afternoon after a huge fire ripped through a terminal car park on Tuesday evening.
Flights have been halted until 15:00 BST after the fire at the multi-storey caused the building to suffer a “significant structural collapse”. About 1,500 vehicles may have been in the car park and subsequently damaged, Bedfordshire Fire Service said.
Four firefighters and an airport staff member were taken to hospital. They had been suffering from the effects of breathing in smoke. Another patient was treated at the scene, although no serious injuries have been reported.
Vehicle alarms and loud explosions were heard, with one witness describing the speed at which the blaze had torn through the upper floor of the car park as “incredible”.
The airport said its priority was to support emergency services and the safety of passengers and staff, which was why flights had been suspended.
Travel expert Simon Calder believed between 40,000 and 50,000 people will have their travel plans affected, while the airport said it hoped to “get the airport operational as soon as possible”. The fire, believed to have been accidental, would have started in a vehicle that arrived at about the time the fire started, shortly before 21:00 BST, the fire service said.
A passenger who was on board a plane that was due to take off as the fire broke out said: “We were all just told to get off the flight, that there was an incident and then we were left in the airport with no proper explanation.”
Two hours later, they were told there was a major incident and that they would need to leave the airport.
“It was all a little bit confusing, because I don't think the staff knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing.”
Footage shared online shows huge flames and billowing smoke from the top level of the car park after the fire broke out shortly before 21:00. Bedfordshire Police have asked people not to travel to the area. One witness said he saw an explosion on the roof of the car park followed by a “flame that shot across the car park like a flame thrower”.
After that, he saw cars exploding “every few minutes”.
The airport said a car fire had spread but did not give further details. Hundreds of people were stranded in Luton with no way of getting home, with many saying their cars were in the car park.
Andy Hopkinson, Bedfordshire's chief fire officer, said the service had “no intelligence than to suggest it was anything other than an accidental fire”. He said it was thought the fire started with a diesel car, and then spread through the car park.
He praised his team and confirmed no members of the public were harmed.
The car park, which can hold 1,900 vehicles, did not appear to have sprinklers, according to Mr Hopkinson. He told reporters that the car park's open sides would have allowed the fire to spread “horizontally” before it went up through the building.
Firefighters were staying on site to monitor the “smouldering remains”. There is a heavy police presence with many officers trying their best to direct people away from the scene. For some stranded passengers, English is not their first language.
Many were struggling with their luggage to Luton Airport's railway station as they tried to catch a train, with others trying to get coaches to other airports in order to catch alternative flights. All the hotels at Luton Airport were fully booked and many passengers said it felt like airlines had simply dumped them.
London Luton is the UK's fifth largest airport after Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted, carrying more than 13 million passengers in 2022. The ambulance service said a critical incident had been stood down but it would “remain on scene to support fire and rescue colleagues”.
Bedfordshire Fire Service said 15 engines had been sent to the airport Earlier, the ambulance service said a member of the public and six firefighters had suffered smoke inhalation. Another passenger said “some of us were very frightened because we'd travelled by ourselves” and “didn't have anywhere to go” after being told to leave the airport.
Russell Taylor, 41, an account director from Kinross, saw the flames after flying in to London Luton from Edinburgh. He told the PA news agency: “There were a couple of fire engines with a car ablaze on the upper floor of the car park at just after 9pm.
“A few minutes later most of the upper floor was alight, car alarms were going off with loud explosions from cars going up in flames.”
Helen Joscelyne, from Exmouth in Devon, was returning to Luton Airport from Burgas in Bulgaria when her plane was diverted to Stansted in Essex, an hour before it was due to land. She said a coach took her to Luton, but she had to walk to the car park with her luggage.
“I don't even know if we can get our car out yet,” she said.
Another passenger, Jason Harris, was supposed to be landing at Luton Airport last night from Egypt. Three hours into his flight he said passengers were informed by the pilot that the fire in Luton meant they would be diverted to Bristol Airport.
He then got a taxi from Bristol to Luton, provided by airline EasyJet, he had to get a second taxi to his home in Stevenage in neighbouring Hertfordshire. He said: “Nightmare all round, I know there's been a fire at the airport but you'd think they'd have a back road for a way out, but it can't be done.”
The fire service said the first call about a fire involving a car on level three of the multi-storey had come at 20:47 BST. It added: “Firefighting operations were undertaken to control the blaze and protect nearby buildings, vehicles, aircraft, and the Luton DART [shuttle service].”
Fire crews would “continue to undertake firefighting operations to help restore travel services to the public as soon as is possible”, it said. The airport said in a statement: “All flights are currently suspended as emergency services respond to a car fire that has spread in Terminal Car Park 2.
“Access to the airport is currently restricted and we ask that people do not travel to the airport at this time. Further updates to follow.” It said additional staff were on hand to provide assistance to passengers, and said they should contact their airline for flight information.
The airport's website said the affected multi-storey car park was located “just a five-minute walk to the terminal entrance”. Airline provider EasyJet, based at Luton, issued a statement apologising for inconvenience.
It added that it would be providing hotel accommodation and meals for passengers where required. Wizz Air, a Hungarian airline which has its UK base at Luton, warned passengers to expect cancelations and disruptions.
— CutC by bbc.com
