The Luton Airport car park collapse has sparked travel chaos across trains, planes and automobiles today, with thousands of passengers stranded and forced to sleep on the floor following a huge inferno.
As many as 240 flights are expected to be cancelled today as a result of the disruption, with fire crews spending 12 hours battling the blaze, which is feared to have destroyed or severely damaged some 1,500 cars.
Those planning to fly from the airport instead had to make last minute plans, frantically dashing to nearby hotels in the hope of a spare room, but many had to make do with a sofa in reception. Several chains including the local Marriott, Best Western and Hampton have again sold out for tonight.
Access to the airport from the Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (Dart) has been closed, leaving passengers stuck on railway platforms at Luton Airport Parkway, while a number of roads are also shut, affecting bus services and forcing travellers to walk uphill for more than a mile with their luggage to find alternative transport.
Others chose to stay at the airport and make a temporary bed for themselves on the floor, including a Polish family who were visiting London on holiday.
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.’
Agnieske Szmit, 44, added: ‘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 on Tuesday evening.
‘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.’
The chaos has also seen a frantic dash for parking spaces, with nearly 2,000 now out of action as a result of the fire.
A check on Luton Airport’s website at about 9am today found there was no availability for parking on any of its official sites before Friday, October 27 – with a space at the Terminal 1 Car Park available for £138 for the week from that date.
The website, which had a wait time of eight minutes just to enter it this morning amid heightened demand, said the area is just a four-minute walk to the terminal, and is the closest car park to the terminal entrance.
The fire took place at the airport’s new Terminal Car Park 2 – and no spaces were listed on that site over the coming weeks and months, even when looking one year in advance.
Demand will now likely increase for rival operators such as Purple Parking and Airparks, for which the cheapest price available through both websites for a week from October 27 was £170 for a ‘meet-and-greet’ service.
Flights are expected to resume from 3pm, while drop-offs are now open again at the airport.
Paul Gaitely, 59, described looking up at a ‘sea of red’ as a flood of cancellations rolled in.
His four-man holiday to Tenerife, with his drinking buddies dubbed The Jolly Boys, 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 addeed: ‘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.’
Holidaymakers are still turning up at the airport hoping their flights will go ahead.
Passengers are believed to be using the large, long-stay car park instead which is just in front of the short-stay one which has partially burnt down.
In a statement on the fire, a spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: ‘Owners of vehicles caught up in this fire will naturally be very concerned.
‘Comprehensive and third-party fire and theft motor insurance policies will cover fire damage.
‘Drivers affected should notify any claim to their motor insurer. We will continue to work with our members and Luton Airport to understand the situation, as and when more information becomes available.
‘It is too early to estimate the insured cost of the fire.
‘Travellers caught up in the disruption following the fire should check the position with their air carrier or travel operator.
‘Some travel polices may offer limited cover for delays or any abandonment of travel.’
Five people were taken to hospital and Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service spent 12 hours battling the inferno at the airport’s £20million Terminal Car Park Two after the multi-storey site was engulfed by flames and caved in just before 9pm last night.
The blaze, which was finally controlled and extinguished by 100 firefighters just before 9am, was started when a diesel car suffered an electrical fault or leaking fuel line, investigators believe. MailOnline understands the vehicle was a Range Rover.
The fire then spread as a number of electric vehicles burst into flames in a domino effect, one firefighter suggested. As many as 1,500 vehicles are feared to have been damaged as a result of the collapse in the car park, which has a capacity of 1,900.
Dramatic footage on CCTV captured the moment the explosion erupted, bringing light fixtures down from the ceiling before a fireball soared through the building.
The car park, which opened in 2019 as part of a £20million modernisation drive, did not have sprinklers, which one fire chief said ‘may have made a positive impact on this incident’ as he urged the airport to install them in existing and future car parks.
He added that the building’s open sides meant the fire will have spread ‘horizontally’ before it went up through the structure. The inferno burned so hot that the car park building is unsalvageable and will eventually be demolished, sources claimed.
The temperature of the flames soared well over the 600C (1,110F) that would destroy the building’s integrity, and one fire officer said it would have hit six million watts.
The contractor for development of the car park was Buckingham Construction, which went into administration just last month with 500 jobs lost. Lancashire-based Raised Flood Solutions installed part of the floor system but had no design involvement.
It comes as devastated Britons told MailOnline how their cars went up in flames at the site – including one couple who had parked a new £48,000 Mercedes there.
Up to 50,000 passengers are suffering disruption at the airport, which is not due to reopen until 3pm this afternoon – and more than 140 flights have been cancelled.
Did you see what happened at London Luton Airport or have you been affected by the chaos? Email tom.pyman@mailonline.co.uk
A fire officer from London, who attended the scene in the early hours, said they could not now get inside the building to figure out the extent of the damage.
Speaking outside the partially burned-out car park, he said: ‘We can’t get close enough to see.
‘It’s too dangerous, it will probably fall down on you, so they will probably to an insurance job and bring it all down.’
Another officer, who would not be named, added that the loud bangs audible in videos circulated via social media would have been fuel tanks, tyres, and EV tanks.
The most common cause of car fires is an electrical fault with the 12-volt battery system, according to AA technical expert Greg Carter. He added that diesel is ‘much less flammable’ than petrol, and in a car it takes ‘intense pressure or sustained flame’ to ignite diesel.
As many as 50,000 people are suffering disruption as a result, according to travel expert Simon Calder, with some 240 flights set to be cancelled up to 3pm at least, and crowds of holidaymakers stranded in Luton this morning, with no way of getting home.
Transport from Luton Airport Parkway rail station has been cut, and the roads have been closed, forcing travellers to embark on an over-one mile uphill walk with their luggage.
Liz Blackmore, 57, had parked her £48,000 Mercedes on the top floor of the car park before heading off on holiday to Portugal.
She told MailOnline: ‘We were returning yesterday evening and then suddenly the captain of the plane told us that we were diverting to Gatwick due to a large fire that has closed the airport.
‘We’re devastated. It was less than a year old and my daughter has taken the other car so now we’re left with no car. We’re horrified.’
She added that she wasn’t sure yet whether she’d be able to get any money back.
‘This morning we heard people have been taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and injuries – we just hope they’re okay – you can replace the car but you can’t replace people.
‘It was confusing because we’re on our own – there was no help from anybody – we landed at nearly midnight and we had no assistance.
‘Also we didn’t know whether to go to Luton and pick up car – we didn’t know what to do – no one told us – we didn’t go because we’d seen the car park had collapsed so we didn’t bother going.’
Tom Wiercinski, 42, flew back to Luton from Poland last night and landed around 9.30pm.
His Honda Civic was in the car park at the time and he feared the worst as he saw flames and smoke billowing into the air.
Mr Wiercinski told MailOnline: ‘I saw the fire as we were landing and I could see it was coming from the car park where I had my car.
‘I thought my car had been destroyed so as soon as I was out through arrivals I went to check.
‘It was in the ‘meet and greet’ section on the second floor and was away from the section where the fire broke out.
‘But I don’t know if there’s been any damage because I haven’t been allowed anywhere near it because of issues around buildings safety.
‘I live in Northamptonshire and so stayed overnight in the Ibis Hotel. I’m supposed to be at work but I’m having to do everything remotely.’
James Davison, 37, from St Albans, Hertfordshire was travelling back from Portugal with his partner, Sarah, 32, when they were diverted to Gatwick.
They had parked their £32,000 VW Tiguan in Car Prk 2 which they fear has been destroyed in the blaze.
James, an accountant said: ‘We haven’t been told for sure but we fear the car has gone. It’s devastating, what with the cost of the holiday it’ll cost a fortune.
‘We were due to land last night and the pilot just said that we had to divert. It cost us money just coming back here from Gatwick.’
Meanwhile, eight Polish passengers revealed how they been stranded for nine hours after their early morning flight from Luton Airport was cancelled.
Access to the Airport from the Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit has been closed, leaving passengers stuck at Luton Airport Parkway station.
One passenger is exercising at the station while his flight has been delayed for a ‘couple of hours’.
Nikodem Lesiak, 18, said he and seven other Polish university students are ‘tired’ as they have been stranded since 12 am after their 7:50 am flight to Krakow, Poland, was cancelled. The students have been in the UK for holiday for five days.
He said: ‘We are tired, and we have spent the whole night here. We need 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 7:50 today but it was cancelled. We found another ticket to Poland from another city and then we have to take a coach to the city we live in.’
There next flight will be leaving at 12:40 pm, however Mr Lesiak said they are taking a ‘risk’ as their flight might again be cancelled.
Passengers and even airline staff frantically tried to book hotel rooms so that they’d have somewhere to sleep for the night, but with most at full capacity, many had to sleep in reception.
One couple revealed how they had to walk in the dark on a dual carriageway to get to their room.
Jackie Evans, from Portsmouth, whose flight with husband Robin from Naples to Luton was diverted to Stansted told the BBC: ‘We overheard they were putting on a shuttle bus but we had to sit on it for half an hour before it left and we were then dumped at Luton Airport Parkway.
‘We had to walk for half an hour in the dark on a dual carriageway to get to our hotel and we have only had two and a half hours sleep so we are completely shattered.’
Holiday Inn, Marriott, Hilton and Best Western hotels in the area are all sold out for tonight.
A Polish family who came on holiday to London today told how they slept on the floor.
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.’
Agnieske Szmit, 44, added: ‘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 on Tuesday evening.
‘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.’
The chaos has also seen a frantic dash for parking spaces, with nearly 2,000 now out of action as a result of the fire.
A check on Luton Airport’s website at about 9am today found there was no availability for parking on any of its official sites before Friday, October 27 – with a space at the Terminal 1 Car Park available for £138 for the week from that date.
The website, which had a wait time of eight minutes just to enter it this morning amid heightened demand, said the area is just a four-minute walk to the terminal, and is the closest car park to the terminal entrance.
The fire took place at the airport’s new Terminal Car Park 2 – and no spaces were listed on that site over the coming weeks and months, even when looking one year in advance.
Demand will now likely increase for rival operators such as Purple Parking and Airparks, for which the cheapest price available through both websites for a week from October 27 was £170 for a ‘meet-and-greet’ service.
Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said at around 10am this morning that the fire at Luton Airport has been ‘stood down from a major incident’.
He 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, which charges £67.50 per day, with many appearing charred and covered in debris in pictures taken this morning.
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?’
Mr Hopkinson also ruled out speculation that it was started by an electric vehicle.
‘It’s believed to be diesel-powered, at this stage all subject to verification. And then that fire has quickly and rapidly spread.’
Liam Smith, crew commander at Leighton Buzzard fire station, told the BBC 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.’
For those who had not already made their way to Luton, they were waking up to the prospect of hours of delays too, with no flights before 3pm, and the airport urging passengers to contact their airline for the latest information.
Last night, vehicle alarms and loud explosions were heard as cars were burned through one by one, with a witness describing the speed in which the blaze tore through the newly-built car park’s upper floor as ‘incredible’.
Five people were rushed to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation following an incident that saw more than 100 firefighters on the scene, aided by 15 rescue pumps and three aerial appliances.
Luton Airport said flights would remain suspended until 3pm on Wednesday following a fire in a multi-storey car park.
The statement said: ‘Our priority remains supporting the emergency services and the safety of our passengers and staff. Therefore, we have now taken the decision to suspend all flights until 3pm on Wednesday 11th October.
‘Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport at this time, as access remains severely restricted.’
More than 140 flights at London Luton Airport have been cancelled so far today due to the fire – including 73 departures and 70 arrivals.
The worst-hit airline was easyJet, which has its base at the hub and was forced to axe 79 flights, including 39 departures and 40 arrivals.
Wizz Air had to cancel 25 departures and 25 arrivals, while Ryanair axed eight departures and five arrivals. One Air Hamburg departure was also cancelled.
In addition, 11 further arrivals early this morning were diverted to other UK airports including London Stansted, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol.
Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said more than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at Luton Airport.
Speaking to reporters at the scene this morning, he said: ‘Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s fire control received an initial 999 call at 8.47pm yesterday evening, reporting a car on fire on the third floor of the Terminal car park two behind me here at London Luton Airport.
‘Our first two fire appliances arrived on scene just a shade under 10 minutes later to work alongside firefighters from Luton Airport Fire Service.
‘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.
‘The incident was declared a major incident at 9.38pm. The car park has a capacity of just over 1,900 cars and we estimate up to 1,500 cars are in the affected car park.
‘At its peak we had 15 fire appliances, over 100 firefighters and a number of specialist resources including the one you will see over my right-hand shoulder, with resources provided by neighbouring fire and rescue services.’
Bedfordshire Police added: ‘We have been part of a multi-agency response overnight to this significant fire at London Luton Airport. We would advise people not to travel to the area if they can.’
Firefighters and an airline official were taken to hospital as emergency services battled the blaze, which broke out at Luton Airport just before 9pm on Tuesday.
East of England Ambulance Service said in a statement it sent two ambulances, seven hazardous area response team vehicles and ambulance officer vehicles to the scene of the Luton Airport fire.
It went on: ‘We assessed five people suffering from smoke inhalation at the scene.
‘Three firefighters and one member of airport staff were transported to Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
‘One firefighter was discharged at the scene.’
Five people were admitted to Luton and Dunstable hospitals for smoke inhalation and a sixth person was treated at the scene but did not require further medical treatment.
Russell Taylor, 41, an account director from Kinross in Scotland, saw the flames after flying in to Luton Airport from Edinburgh.
He said: ‘There were a couple of fire engines with a car ablaze on the upper floor of the car park at just after 9pm.
‘A few minutes later most of the upper floor was alight, car alarms were going off with loud explosions from cars going up in flames.
‘The speed in which the fire took hold was incredible.’
Crews from Bedfordshire and neighbouring counties have been urgently battling the blaze, they said, ‘to prevent it from spreading to adjacent buildings and vehicles on air side of the airport.’
The short stay building suffered ‘significant structural collapse’ and half of the structure was fully taken over by the fire, the fire service said in an update just after midnight.
Police and ambulance crews also attended the scene and local residents were warned to keep doors and windows closed and avoid the area.
Footage posted on social media shows fire tearing through cars parked at the airport terminal on Tuesday evening, with smoke billowing over the airport’s runway.
The fire raged into the early hours of Wednesday, with Beds Fire service sharing an update just after midnight on Tuesday stating that they were first alerted by calls at 8.47pm on Tuesday.
Russell Taylor, 41, an account director from Kinross in Scotland, saw the flames over the car park as he flew in to Luton Airport from Edinburgh on Tuesday.
He said: ‘There were a couple of fire engines with a car ablaze on the upper floor of the car park at just after 9pm.
‘A few minutes later most of the upper floor was alight, car alarms were going off with loud explosions from cars going up in flames.
‘The speed in which the fire took hold was incredible.’
Eyewitness Molly Bullard described ‘scary scenes’ as the short stay was ‘exploding into flames’.
She said on X: ‘There is no transport in or out of Luton Airport. Passengers are being evacuated to walk on the footpath via the road underpass. All airport buses and vehicles are trapped by road blocks.’
A spokesman for the airport wrote on X on Tuesday evening: ‘Emergency services are currently responding to a car fire in Terminal Car Park 2, restricting access to the airport.’
They later added just after 1am on Wednesday: ‘Emergency services continue to respond to a significant fire in Terminal Car Park 2, which has now resulted in a partial structural collapse.
‘The safety of our passengers and staff remains our main priority. We have therefore taken the decision to suspend all flights until 12pm on Wednesday 11th October.
‘Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport at this time, as access remains severely restricted.’
They urged passengers with queries regarding parked vehicles or future bookings to get in touch and passengers looking for flight information to speak to their airlines.