Summary

  • Flights have resumed from Luton Airport after a large fire at a terminal car park on Tuesday evening

  • Tens of thousands of passengers are thought to be caught up in the disruption

  • Footage has emerged of a burning car, which could have started the massive car park fire

  • Terminal Car Park 2 suffered a "significant structural collapse" following the blaze, the fire service says

  • Up to 1,500 vehicles may have been in the car park at the time

  • Fire service says the blaze appears to have been accidental

Live Reporting

Writer: Rachael McMenemy. Edited by Richard Haugh

  1. 'Cars were just exploding'

    Stranded passengers have described their ordeal after a fire broke out in a multi-storey car park at Luton Airport.

  2. 'It's no-one's fault'

    Declan DeverKate Bradbrook/BBC

    Declan Dever, 65, from Westport in Ireland, is trying to get back home for his brother's 80th birthday.

    His flight should have been at 11:00 BST but is now cancelled.

    Declan says he's rebooked on a flight early tomorrow morning and feels fortunate he's not in a rush.

    "I'll go back to my hotel, got to check out but we think we'll do a bit of sightseeing and book in again," he says.

    "I feel sorry for people, I see children in there asleep on the ground, I feel sorry for that.

    "It's no-one's fault, just have to grin and bear it."

  3. Nearly half of arrivals cancelled too

    Katy Austin
    Transport correspondent

    The arrivals figures show similar level of disruption to the departures.

    Of the 145 flights scheduled to arrive at Luton today, 71 have been cancelled, aviation data firm Cirium says.

  4. 'The cars were parked very close to each other'

    Liam Smith

    Liam Smith, crew commander at Leighton Buzzard fire station, said that when he arrived, the fire was mainly on the third floor.

    But it quickly spread down to the lower floors when the third floor started to collapse.

    He said there were "lots of electric vehicles potentially involved quite early on", though the fire started in a diesel car.

    "We decided to go defensive, which is basically where we decide to externally firefight rather than send firefighters in, for their safety as well.

    "The cars were parked very close, next to each other.

    "So unfortunately that was probably the reason for the rapid fire spread."

  5. Look out for for travel advice, minister urges passengers

    Aviation Minister Baroness Charlotte Vere has urged people to follow Luton Airport's social media channels for travel advice.

    Writing on social media, she also expressed gratitude to the firefighters who worked hard to extinguish the blaze overnight.

    The government are in touch with airlines, airport authorities and the Civil Aviation Authority, Vere adds.

  6. In pictures: Fire rips through airport car park

    To get a sense of the scale of the fire in Luton last night, here are some of the strongest pictures of the blaze that ripped through the airport car park.

    People walking with suitcases looking at a huge fire in the backgroundReuters
    Firefighters and a police car in front of the fire in the car parkReuters
    A huge fire in a car parkReuters

  7. About Luton Airport

    Luton Airport

    Luton Airport - or London Luton Airport to give it its full title - is the UK's fifth largest airport after Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.

    It's about 30 miles north of the centre of the capital.

    The airport opened on 16 July 1938 and is now home to EasyJet.

    It carried more than 13 million passengers in 2022, and by July this year it had already served over nine million passengers.

  8. Eight Polish students stranded overnight

    Eight Polish students have been stranded in Luton overnight after their early morning flight was cancelled.

    Access from the train station to the airport is closed, leaving many stuck in travel limbo at Luton Airport Parkway station.

    Nikodem Lesiak said he and seven fellow Polish students had been stranded since midnight, as their plane to Krakow was cancelled.

    He told the PA news agency they needed to get to Poland "as fast as possible".

    "When we got here, we found out Luton is burning and everything is closed, and we were supposed to have our flight at 07:50 today but it was cancelled."

    The group have managed to find a different flight from another airport back to Poland, but the 18-year-old said they were taking a risk it could also be cancelled.

  9. Luton Airport fire: Get in touch

    Have you been affected by the fire at Luton Airport?

    You can also get in touch in the following ways:

    In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

  10. Half of Luton flights cancelled already

    Katy Austin
    Transport correspondent

    The aviation data firm Cirium says 146 flights were scheduled to depart Luton Airport today.

    Of these, 73 have been cancelled.

  11. New photos show severe damage to car park

    BBC reporter Louise Parry has sent this close up photo, which appears to show that parts of the car park have collapsed.

    Internal metal work and concrete crumbled on one levelLouise Parry/BBC

    A view from further back shows how widespread the fire was.

    Wide shot showing side of car park. There is black smoke damage and you can see a partial collapse.SBNA

  12. Simon Calder: 'Today is going to be a nightmare for passengers'

    Simon Calder

    Travel expert Simon Calder says today is going to be a nightmare for tens of thousands of passengers.

    Ten flights were cancelled with passengers onboard last night and 23 were diverted all over the UK, he said.

    "Much worse in terms of sheer scale are the 240 cancellations that we will see even if Luton is able to start operations on schedule at 15:00 today.

    "I have calculated that there are between 40,000 and 50,000 people who will have their travel plans wrecked today," he said.

  13. 'Crews were faced with a rapidly escalating fire'

    Andy Hopkinson, chief fire officer at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, has been speaking to reporters.

    'Crews were faced with a rapidly escalating fire'

  14. 'We'll eventually get there'

    Helen Hodson. She is standing outside a hotel wearing glasses, a white top and denim jacket.Kate Bradbrook/BBC

    Helen Hodson, from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, was meant to be travelling to Egypt but her flight has been delayed due to the fire.

    She was due to fly at 10:50 BST but has been told it is now 16:00.

    "We came up by road and then had to get into the long stay car park and walk from there because there were no buses going to the terminal," Helen says.

    She's popped into an airport hotel to wait until the terminal reopens.

    "We'll eventually get there I'm sure.

    "The policeman we spoke to said he's not even sure if the terminal is open yet until 3pm.

    "That's really going to delay us. You're not getting through the airport by 4pm."

  15. Thousands of travellers will be affected

    Katy Austin
    Transport correspondent

    As well as the passengers inconvenienced last night, thousands more will find their flight has been cancelled while Luton Airport remains closed.

    PA news agency says it could be as many as 25,000 passengers, with at least 140 flights cancelled since the fire started.

    At the time of writing, 35 EasyJet return flights are among those which will no longer operate. The airline says people whose flights have been cancelled can rebook or get a refund.

    Wizz Air has also warned of cancellations and disruption, saying all affected customers will be contacted by text or email.

  16. Videos show explosion and flames

    Videos posted on social media show what appears to be an explosion as fire ripped through the car park's upper floors on Tuesday evening.

  17. Fire likely started in a diesel car - fire chief

    Fire chief Andy Hopkinson says it is thought the fire started with a diesel car, and then spread through the car park.

    He said up to 1,500 vehicles could have been in the car park, which has a capacity of 1,900, at the time of the fire.

  18. Fire 'controlled and extinguished'

    Terminal 2 car park entrance covered in black smoke residue and with some smoke still coming out.Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service

    Some smoke can still be seen filtering out of the terminal two car park

    Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue has posted on X, formerly Twitter, to say the fire has been extinguished.

    The fire service said crews had worked "extremely hard throughout the night and into the early morning" to get the fire under control.

    Firefighters will stay on site to monitor the "smouldering remains".

    As of 09:00 BST, four crews and an aerial appliance remained at the scene.

    At the peak of the blaze, 15 crews from multiple fire services and four aerial appliances were at the airport.

  19. 'Nightmare all round'

    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. Following that, he had to get a second taxi to his home in Stevenage.

    "Nightmare all round," Jason said. "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."

    Justin Harris standing at an airport with his suitcases.Justin Dealey/BBC

  20. Photos show extent of car park damage

    Large sections of the car park are now covered in a thick black residue.

    Metal warped and black smoke damageRichard Knights/BBC

    Some of the metal barriers on levels of the car park have been warped by the intense heat of the blaze

    Smoke damage can be seen on the outside the car parkRichard Knights/BBC

    Entire sections of the car park have been turned black following the blaze

    Through a wire gate you can see emergency services still at the sceneRichard Knights/BBC

    Emergency services are still at the scene