LAST UPDATE | 11 Oct 2023

LUTON AIRPORT HAS reopened after a vehicle fire caused a car park to collapse, sparking disruption for tens of thousands of passengers.

The Bedfordshire airport suspended flights from when the fire happened at around 9pm yesterday until 3pm today.

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 Manchester, while many other flights were delayed.

The figures suggest more than 30,000 passengers suffered disruption to their journeys.

Ryanair has advised passengers of possible delays or cancellations on flights to and from the airport.

A spokesperson said “affected passengers will be advised via email, Push and SMS as soon as possible”.

The airline has also advised passengers to monitor the Day Of Travel assistant section of the Ryanair App and has apologised “for any inconvenience caused by the closure of Luton Airport, which is outside of Ryanair’s control”.

The fire was declared a major incident, with firefighters working through the night and into the early hours of today to extinguish the blaze.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it received a report of a car fire on level three of the airport’s Terminal Car Park 2 at 8.47pm.

15 fire appliances and more than 100 firefighters were deployed.

Three firefighters and a member of airport staff were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, and another firefighter was treated at the scene.

Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “On arrival my officers were faced with a severe and rapidly spreading fire involving a large number of vehicles that ultimately spread to multiple floors and involved a partial collapse of the car park.”

He said the car park does not have sprinklers, and if it did they “may have made a positive impact”.

The fire chief added: “We are already talking to the airport about ensuring that any future, and the existing, car parks have sprinklers fitted.”

Hopkinson said up to 1,500 vehicles were inside the car park at the time of the fire.

The blaze is believed to have started with a diesel-powered vehicle “and then that fire has quickly and rapidly spread”, he said.

There is no suggestion the blaze happened intentionally.

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.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said drivers with fire damage are covered by comprehensive and third-party fire and theft policies.

He added it is “too early to estimate the insured cost of the fire”.

A temporary ramp is being installed at the car park to enable undamaged vehicles to be removed.

Footage posted on social media showed flames and smoke tearing through cars.

The car park was opened in 2019 as part of a multi-year modernisation programme costing tens of millions of pounds.

Nearby residents were told to close their windows to avoid the smoke.

The Dart light rail transit system connecting the airport with mainline railway station Luton Airport Parkway will remain closed even after the runway reopens.

Replacement buses are in operation.

-With additional reporting from Diarmuid Pepper