Across the pond in the United Kingdom and 40 miles outside of central London, Luton Airport is a hub for many low-cost airlines taking passengers to different European cities. While it is significantly smaller than London Heathrow, over 130 flights take off from Luton on an average day.
All those flights came to a halt on Oct. 11 after a large fire broke out in one of the airport's car parks. Newly completed earlier this year, the new carpark built for those taking off for Luton's Terminal 2 came ablaze after "an accidental fire that started in one of the vehicles" caused flames to spread across the area and cause the collapse of certain park structures.
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The fire broke out around 8 p.m. on Oct. 10 and, by the following morning, was still not fully under control despite fire crews working all night.
Efforts are still ongoing to extinguish a serious fire at Luton Airport. We are continuing to protect surrounding airport infrastructure, vehicles and the Luton DART. For anyone whose travel plans may be affected, please refer to the advice being provided by London Luton Airport. pic.twitter.com/tNFo4hvRdX
— Beds Fire and Rescue (@BedsFire) October 11, 2023
Here is how the massive car park fire broke out at Luton Airport
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service's Chief Fire Officer Andy Hopkinson said that over 1,200 cars parked there at the time were damaged while Luton Airport called off all flights scheduled to take off in the first part of Oct. 11. More than 40,000 passengers with flights were affected.
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Many travelers spent several hours sitting on the floor of the airport as they waited for information on when and whether their flight would be cleared to take off.
Fire crews were eventually able to get the fire under control and the first flights were cleared to take off by 3 p.m. local time on Oct. 11.
"Following last night’s car fire in Terminal Car Park 2, emergency services have now downgraded the incident but remain on the scene as a precaution," the airport posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday afternoon. "The teams have worked hard to get the airport operational, with the passengers now re-entering the terminal and the first flights expected to depart from 3 p.m."
Flights have started to take off but 'delays are expected,' airport warns
The next 24 hours will, however, be spent rerouting passengers who were affected by the cancelations. Luton Airport's authorities urged anyone who is not yet there "not to travel to the airport at this time as access remains severely restricted." Many flights scheduled for later in Oct. 11 and 12 have been delayed indefinitely as the airport works to clear out the disruption caused by the cancelations and get people already there to their destinations.
According to Hopkinson, all evidence suggests that the fire was accidental. While it is still unclear whether any travelers were in the car park at the time the fire broke out and received injuries, four firefighters and a member of the airport staff team received treatment for "mild smoke inhalation" at a local treatment facility.
"The runway is now open, and flights are beginning to arrive and depart," Luton Airport said in another update posted shortly after the first flights had started taking off. "Main roads around the area have also reopened but delays area expected on the airport approach."
