11 October 2023 , 08:34
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easyJet has issued a statement for passengers after all flights at Luton Airport were suspended on Wednesday morning, following a blaze that ripped through one of the airport's car parks which firefighters say has "suffered a significant structural collapse".
As a result, all flights at the airport have been grounded until 3pm on Wednesday. They have been cancelled since the fire broke out at around 9pm last night, with more than 15 crews from Bedfordshire Fire Service tackling the blaze. As of 8.45am, the fire service confirmed that the blaze had been extinguished and that four crews remained on scene.
A spokesperson said: "Crews have controlled and extinguished the fire at Luton Airport. Four crews and an aerial appliance remain at the scene. All flights are suspended until 3pm. If you have a flight leaving before 3pm, please do not travel. Please avoid the area owing to severe traffic delays."
Passengers are also being urged not to travel to the airport and warned that "access is severely restricted". easyJet is one of the biggest airlines operating from Luton, and the airline has subsequently issued an update for passengers whose flights are affected by the chaos.
A charred section of a parking structure is seen after it caught fire and partially collapsed at London's Luton Airport (AFP via Getty Images)A statement on the airline's website explains: "Due to the ongoing closure of Luton airport our flights from Luton are currently unable to operate as planned. We are doing all possible to minimise the impact on our customers, providing those on cancelled flights with options to rebook or receive a refund, as well as providing hotel accommodation and meals where required.
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"We advise all passengers due to fly with us from Luton to check the status of their flights on Flight Tracker at www.easyjet.com/en/flight-tracker for real-time information. The safety and wellbeing of customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused."
If you have a flight booked today, get in touch with your airline direct who will be able to advise you on rebooking to an alternative flight, or receiving a refund. It's worth noting that you're unlikely to receive compensation from the airline for any delays as they could claim 'extraordinary circumstances' aka that the delays were outside of their control.
Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said more than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at Luton Airport.
It's estimated that at least 140 flights due to take off or land at Luton Airport have been cancelled since the fire started and a further 17 arrivals were diverted to airports including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Gatwick, Liverpool John Lennon, Manchester and Stansted.
That means around 25,000 passengers have been affected. The worst affected airlines were Wizz Air and easyJet, which operate the most flights at Luton Airport.