Thousands of Luton passengers hit by chaos after blaze destroys 1,200 cars

Blaze caused by diesel car - fire service

Beds Fire & Rescue Service have said last night's fire was caused by a diesel car.

A spokesperson said: "Two fire engines, an aerial platform and the incident command unit remain at the scene of the fire currently. Crews continue to work with airport fire service to monitor hot spots.

"The fire service can confirm the initial vehicle involved in the fire was a diesel car. An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is underway. Main roads around the area are all open."

Can I claim for my flight?

With thousands of passengers affected by last night's fire - which resulted in flights being cancelled and redirected - questions are being asked over whether airline custoers can now claim compensation.

According to Claims.co.uk, which provides free guidance about claiming compensation, if you've booked a package trip and your flights are cancelled, you have the rights to either claim a full refund, a reroute of the trip destination and potentially compensation from the airline. But, they warn that in these specific circumstances at Luton Airport, delays and cancellations caused by air traffic control restrictions are considered an 'extraordinary circumstance' and therefore do not qualify for compensation.
A spokesperson said: "If the delay lasts more than five hours, but is not actually cancelled, you should also be able to choose not to travel and get a full refund on your ticket. If your flight cannot be rearranged, meaning your whole holiday must be cancelled, then the travel company must offer an alternative holiday if possible, or a refund of the full package price, not just the flight part."
Some operators might impose fees for changing travel dates, which could impact your decision. And finally, read through your travel insurance policy, if you have it, to see if it covers cancellations or changes due to unforeseen circumstances.

Runway now open with flights resuming

Luton Airport says flights are beginning to return to normal after last night's fire.

A spokesperson said this afternoon: "The runway is now open, and flights are beginning to arrive an depart. Main roads around the area have also re-opened, but delays are expected on the airport approach. For those arriving by car, the Long and Mid-stay car parks are fully operational, and a temporary drop-off area has been established in the Mid-stay car park.

"For those travelling to the airport by rail, the DART shuttle remains out of service with replacement buses in operation. Additional staff remain on hand to assist passengers across the airport."

Motorist given no news on trapped car

A furious car owner said he is being given "no information" about his BMW trapped inside the Airport's burned-out multi storey car park. The man, who did not want to be named, left the car on the third floor, where the fire is believed to have started, with his flight from Albania due to land today before being redirected to Cardiff. He bought the car two years ago for £35,000 and claims he had to break into his own house on Wednesday after leaving his keys inside.

Diners flee restaurant fire after 'sparkler in drink ignited wall decorations'

"I thought it was convenient to drive the car and just to walk there [to Luton Airport], but that convenience happened to be very inconvenient," said the 37-year-old from Lightwater, Surrey. "My house keys, my business keys, lots of paperwork, trainers, lots of stuff, sunglasses, lots of normal belongings but important belongings [were left in the car].
"I think my car is okay because I can see the car beneath [on the second floor], and that's okay. My car is right one level above, but I can't see. I was begging [the security] just to go by the side, just to see. I was just going to go just by the edge.

"I will have to get rental cars, or borrow a car from a friend, I can't be without driving, and they won't give me anything. What can you do?"

More than 30,000 hit by disruption

More than 30,000 passengers have suffered disruption to their journeys as a result of the fire, figures suggest.
PA news agency analysis of flight data websites found at least 150 flights due to take off or land at the airport were cancelled. A further 27 arrivals were diverted to airports as far away as Cardiff, Liverpool and Mancheste.r, while many other flights were delayed.

The scene following a fire at a multi-storey car park at Luton Airport (PA)

Brit who thought fire was 'shotguns' relieved as her car is untouched

One Brit who thought the car park blaze was "shotguns or something" was relieved that her car wasn't touched by the fire.

Cristina Cristea landed back in Luton airport shortly before the fire brought the site grinding to a halt.

She told The BBC: "At first we thought it was shotguns or something as we couldn't see any flames, then we saw what happened. Thank God our car isn't affected."

First flights listed since car park blaze

The first flights have been listed for departure online since the car park blaze.

According to the online departures board, the first is scheduled to take off at 3pm - almost 20 hours since the fire first broke out. A Ryanair flight to Cork is estimated to be one of the first taking off, following by a number of others shortly after.

Insurance expert weighs in on car owners solutions amid mass vehicle fire

Emergency services begin building access road to burnt out car park

Emergency services have begun the arduous task of building an access road to the stable parts of the car park, not hit by the horror blaze.

Images from the scene show them beginning to put in place the structures to be able to access it, so people can retrieve their cars whilst work is carried out on the damaged areas elsewhere.

Workmen have begun digging up the land next to the car park to begin construction of the road.

The burnt out shells of cars, buried amongst debris of a multi-storey car park at Luton Airport (PA)

Road cordon lifted as flights set to resume

Drop-offs are open again at London Luton Airport following a massive blaze that has destroyed hundreds of vehicles in a multi-storey car park.

Roads to the airport had been cordoned off by police since the fire began, but at 1.20pm today the blue and white tape was lifted.

Passengers until now have faced a one-mile hike to the terminal, many of whom arrived to learn their flight was cancelled. Luton Airport earlier confirmed that it expects flights to resume from 3pm.

Passengers walk along a pathway following a fire at the airport car park (PA)

Local 'thought plane had crashed' after hearing bangs and sirens

Paul Gaitely, 59, was due to go on a four-man holiday to Tenerife, with his drinking buddies dubbed The Jolly Boys, but this will have to be rescheduled.

Last night the Luton resident, who lives less than a mile from the airport, heard bangs and saw flames, leading him to believe a plane had crashed. He said: "We all heard crashes and we could hear all the sirens,

"I said to my wife 'there's something happening at the airport.' Then we could heard the bangs from the cars, the windows. We heard the sirens before the bangs. I could see the flames, I thought it was a plane crash."

He said a relative who works in the airport had told him that a Range Rover had caused the fire, information that has not been confirmed by officials. Mr Gaitely, the director of a planting machinery company, said he had been on his way to celebrate a friend's 70th birthday.

He added: "Our flight has been cancelled unfortunately, we literally got message now, it's a bit late. We just looked and the board and saw a sea of red."

The burned out shells of cars (PA)

Mum and son returning to Israel are delayed

A mum and son returning to Israel to reunite with their family have been delayed due to the fire, it is reported.

On flying back to her homeland, the passenger, called Fiona, told the BBC: "It’s scary, it wasn’t clear to us what we’re going to do, if it was better for us to be here or better for us to be there.

"My son really wants to go back, he wants to be near his brothers, he wants to be with his friends because he will feel really alone, and at least there we have more support around us.

"I have two sons that are soldiers and their dad is at home at the moment, we already know people that have died and people that have been abducted. [There are] no words for it."

Witness 'tried putting out fire with extinguisher' after 'fuel tank exploded'

A video shows a car engulfed in flames at Luton Airport over an hour before a huge fire caused the multi-storey car park to partially collapse.

An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said the vehicle's fuel tank exploded. The clip was reportedly recorded at 8.52pm, almost an hour before Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue declared the airport incident at 9.38pm.

The eyewitness said they attempted to put out the fire using an extinguisher. She said: "I was picking up my mother-in-law and daughter from the airport. They were arriving from Romania. When we first saw the fire we tried to put it out. I filmed a short video in case I needed to show airport staff.

"We went down to a lower floor to find a fire extinguisher as there were already two empty ones nearby. By the time we got back the fuel tank had already exploded and there was nothing we could do."

The start of the fire at Luton airport. Started from a Range Rover yesterday evening. #lutonairport pic.twitter.com/DSPWZFYo2D

— lord cxsh (@LordCxsh) October 11, 2023

Passenger forked out for hotel overnight and missed day of work due to fire

A woman whose car is stuck in a car park at Luton Airport has told how she saw a fire take hold in a multi-storey soon after her flight landed.

Cristina Cristea, 25, had been at her sister's wedding in Romania and landed back at Luton at around 8pm on Tuesday, hearing sirens afterwards.

"By the time we came out of the airport it was 9.10pm and we heard more noises and saw flames," said Ms Cristea, of Towcester, Northamptonshire. She said her car is stuck in terminal car park one, next to car park two where the fire broke out.

"At first we thought it was shotguns or something as we couldn't see any flames, then we saw what happened," she said. "Slowly, slowly they blocked all the access." She said she paid to stay in a local hotel overnight. Speaking from a grass bank in view of the car park on Wednesday, she said: "Thank God our car isn't affected."

Workers are constructing a new exit ramp to get cars out. Ms Cristea, who has two jobs at a dry cleaners and at a restaurant, said she had missed a day of work and was told around lunchtime that no cars would be able to come out of the car park for the next three hours.

Many of the cars appear damaged (PA)

First passengers re-entering terminal as shuttle out of service

Luton Airport confirmed it expects flights to resume at 3pm. It said in a statement: “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 teams have worked hard to get the airport operational, with the first passengers now re-entering the terminal and the first flights expected to depart from 3pm.

“For those arriving by car, the long and mid-stay car parks are fully operational, and a temporary drop-off area has been established in the mid-stay car park.

“For those travelling to the airport by rail, the Dart shuttle remains out of service with replacement buses in operation. Additional staff remain on hand to assist passengers across the airport."

The first passengers have re-entered the terminal (PA)

Passengers sleep on floor as airport cancels flights until 3pm

Pictures show passengers waiting inside Luton Airport, which has suspended all flights until 3pm today.

Around 25,000 people are thought to have been disrupted, with at least 150 flights cancelled.

A passenger sleeps on the floor (PA)

Planned strike cancelled at airport due to huge fire

A planned strike by cleaners and parking attendants at Luton Airport has been suspended because of the fire which has halted flights.

Members of Unite employed by a cleaning contractor were due walk out for five days from Saturday, while parking attendants were due to strike for a week from Friday.

Tens of thousands of airline passengers suffered disruption on Wednesday, with Luton Airport closed after a vehicle fire caused a car park to collapse.

Ramps are positioned near the car park (PA)

Major traffic delays after airport suspends flights

There are "major traffic delays" around Luton Airport following the car park blaze, a bus operator has said.

Arriva Beds and Bucks wrote: "With the ongoing issues at London Luton Airport there are major traffic delays in the area. We are experiencing some significant delays across our Luton network as a result. Please allow extra time for your journey."

Fire aftermath in pictures as entire multi-storey car park destroyed

Images show fire ripping through a Luton Airport multi-storey car park that has collapsed and led to flight chaos.

The airport has been closed as firefighters tackle the blaze which began last night and appears to have destroyed hundreds of cars. Flights have been cancelled since the fire broke out shortly before 9pm.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, the airport said flights would be suspended until 3pm. Four firefighters and a member of airport staff were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and another firefighter was treated at the scene.

See pictures of the fire here.

Authorities 'tried to evacuate tourists from terminal building' but 'didn't say where to'

A Polish woman who spent the night at Luton Airport after a fire in a multi-storey car park resulted in cancelled flights said authorities tried to evacuate them from the terminal building overnight.

Agnieske Szmit, 44, who had been holidaying in London with her family and is trying to return to Gdansk, said: "We missed our work today, the children should be at school."

She said they slept on the floor of the terminal building and on benches after their flight was cancelled last night. "They tried to evacuate us but they didn't say where, just go outside and follow the crowds," she said. "The police in the night - it was cold outside."

Close-up pictures show burned out shells of cars

A series of close-up pictures shows the burned out shells of cars, hundreds of which have been damaged after the blaze last night.

The burned out shells of cars buried amongst debris (PA)

Dramatic clip appears to show start of the fire

Footage has emerged on social media claiming to show the start of last night's blaze.

The CCTV clip - timestamped October 10, 2023 - captures a huge explosion inside a car park, which occurs after a ceiling collapses onto a row of vehicles.

It is not clear whether the video is linked to the Luton Airport incident, and the Mirror is working to verify the footage.

Luton Airport car exploded pic.twitter.com/geO2Q4KypY

— Lisa B (@Lisamfb) October 11, 2023

Polish family on first trip to England forced to sleep on airport floor

A Polish family who came on holiday to London have told how they slept on the floor at Luton Airport after the fire caused flight cancellations.

Gregorz Szmit, 46, said their flight to Gdansk should have departed at 9.50pm on Tuesday and is now scheduled to leave at 7.30pm on Wednesday.

Mr Szmit, speaking from the terminal building where he is waiting with his wife and their two sons aged seven and 15, said: "We were on holiday for five days to visit London - British Museum, Trafalgar Square. This is difficult, I must say. This is our first journey to England, to London.

"It's been an adventure."

AA expert reveals most common cause of car fires

AA technical expert Greg Carter said the most common cause of car fires is an electrical fault with the 12-volt battery system.

He added that diesel is "much less flammable" than petrol, and in a car it takes "intense pressure or sustained flame" to ignite diesel.

Taxi driver: 'It's a nightmare'

A taxi driver from Luton Black Cabs said: “There are no customers. No work. Nowhere to park. It’s a nightmare."

Emergency services at the scene (SplashNews.com)

Passenger evacuated to Holiday Inn has 'no idea' if car is damaged

A returning holidaymaker, who did not want to be named, said: "We landed last night. Came through the terminal all fine and thought ‘brilliant - two hours drive and we’ll be home’.

"Then we saw all the flames and smoke and were ushered away. My car is stuck in Car Park 1. We had to stay at the Holiday Inn and now we are waiting for my son to come and pick us up. No idea if our car is okay or when we can get it."

An Albanian woman with a toddler said: “We were diverted to Liverpool last night. We were given a taxi ride to Luton where our car is parked. My husband is trying to get our car out. We don’t know which car park it is in. After that we have to get back to our home in Birmingham."

Burned out cars are pictured in a charred section of car park (AFP via Getty Images)

Mum and daughter clueless as to whether Turkey holiday will go ahead

Mum and daughter Rebecca Fancourt and Jane Knight, from Lincolnshire, were supposed to be travelling to Turkey on a flight at 12.30 this afternoon.

Despite checking online and calling Tui, they are unsure as to what is happening and whether their holiday will still go ahead. They said: "We have been told flights are still going ahead and had to be driven here from Lincolnshire because there is no certainty around parking.

"We have spent all night trying to figure out what to do and it has been impossible to get details. We are very frustrated by the situation."

Police cars near the scene (SplashNews.com)

Firefighters removing vehicles from unaffected car park

Mr Hopkinson told reporters at the scene that a ramp is being installed "into the unaffected car park because the normal exit route is not safe to take vehicles out".

He went on: "We've currently got four fire appliances and a couple of other specialist crews but we are very much focused on getting a handover and getting this airport open as quickly as we can."

He said there are "just shy of 1,500" vehicles in the affected car park.

He added: "There is a substantial number that are not damaged and our focus as well is can we remove those vehicles safely without causing any danger to the responders?"

Firefighters at the scene today (SplashNews.com)

No sprinklers were fitted in car park, says fire chief

Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said there were no sprinklers in the car park at Luton Airport.

He told reporters at the scene: "We are already talking to the airport about ensuring that any future, and the existing, car parks have sprinklers fitted because this building is not sprinkler protected."

He added: "Sprinklers may have made a positive impact on this incident."

The charred remains of the car park (AFP via Getty Images)

Major incident downgraded as fire crews scaled back

In an update at 10am, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue said: "The fire service have now scaled back and this is no longer a major incident.

"A number of agencies have been released from the scene and we continue to work with colleagues from the airport and police. The fire service will continue to be on the scene for the rest of the day.

"An investigation into the cause of the fire will begin once it is safe to do so. There is still considerable congestion around the airport so please avoid the area."

https://t.co/wgfak9HjBi#LutonAirport pic.twitter.com/DEPbcwSltQ

— Beds Fire and Rescue (@BedsFire) October 11, 2023