Flights are due to resume at London’s Luton Airport after a fire deemed “accidental” caused flights to be grounded and the partial collapse of a car park with damage to hundreds of vehicles and reports of five people injured and hundreds stranded overnight.
Cars popping as they were exploding
The fire in the airport, which is situated 35 miles (56 km) north of London in the county of Bedfordshire, started in a newly constructed car park at approximately 9pm on Tuesday.
Witnesses have described how quickly the situation deteriorated. Jan Maxwell, 63, from Bedfordshire, told the BBC that she had returned from a trip to Dublin and was in the car park as the fire began to take hold.
“We started hearing cars popping as they were exploding. It was just a couple of cars on fire, then within literally 10 minutes they were pushing us back towards the airport building. All of a sudden one side was alight, and then the other side, and the flames were just getting higher.”
All flights have been suspended at Luton Airport London as massive fire has erupted in the terminal car parking. pic.twitter.com/gvRz300NnH
— Lilian (@lilian37458552) October 11, 2023
Tens of thousands of passengers affected
Fire services battled the blaze, which initially was said to have affected around 80% of one floor, for hours. But by about 1:00 am, the airport announced the partial collapse of the structure, where up to 1,500 cars may have been at the time.
Departure and arrival boards filled with grounded flights. 150 flights were cancelled, according to The Independent, and 30 more diverted to other airports. Tens of thousands of passengers are thought to have been affected.
Update at 22.40 pic.twitter.com/IA01sv8xiN
— London Luton Airport (@LDNLutonAirport) October 10, 2023
Do not travel
By 5:00 am, the Bedforshire Fire and Rescue Service put out a statement, posting on social media platform X:
“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.”
With passengers advised by authorities on Wednesday morning “not to travel to the airport at this time as access remains severely restricted,” the disruption lasted well into Wednesday afternoon.
Will passengers be compensated?
The Association of British Insurers has said: “Owners of vehicles caught up in this fire will naturally be very concerned. Comprehensive and third-party fire and theft motor insurance policies will cover fire damage.”
Owners of affected vehicles should contact their motor insurer, the association said, adding that some travel policies may offer “limited cover for delays or abandonment of travel.”
The association told reporters it was continuing “to work with our members and Luton Airport to understand the situation” and that it is “too early to estimate the insured cost of the fire.”
