Luton Airport Fire: Shuttle link remains closed after blaze

The recently opened service connects the airport terminal with Luton Airport Parkway station

The driverless shuttle link that carries passengers to Luton Airport will not reopen until next week following Tuesday's fire.

The Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (Dart) has been closed since the blaze broke out at a car park, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

It connects Luton Airport Parkway station to the airport itself in about three minutes.

While the Dart was undamaged by the fire, there are still safety concerns.

The service is expected to remain closed until next week, and Thursday at the latest.

The fire, which broke out on level three of the airport's terminal two car park, is thought to have started in a diesel car and spread rapidly, causing some structural damage.

Passengers were told to add half an hour to their journey time while the Dart remains out of service

Before the Dart arrives at the airport it must first travel through a 500m tunnel which runs close to the car park.

Linsey Sweet, general manager of Luton Dart, said structural engineers still need to assess the route.

"Safety must come first and we're just doing the best we can to get people moving as quickly as possible," she said.

Barry Harkin said the bus replacement service was not sufficient enough for the amount of passengers

In the mean time, the Dart has been replaced by a bus service.

Barry Harkin was travelling to Ireland but has found the replacement bus frustrating.

He said: "Four busses for hundreds of people coming to an airport? Four busses? We're all standing here and nobody can go anywhere."

Maria Krishnarajah said she was sympathetic to the situation

Maria Krishnarajah, from Luton, was looking forward to using the recently opened Dart service, but was sympathetic to the situation.

She said: "It would've been nice to finally get on it after it's taken so many years to build, but it's understandable.

"You just have to accept it, it's nobody's fault, nobody wanted all of their cars to burn out" she added.