All flights halted at UK airport after massive fire causes terminal car park to collapse
All flights have been halted from a UK airport after a massive fire.
A blaze tore through one of the multi-storey car parks at Luton airport, causing it to collapse.
The fire began on Tuesday evening (10 October) at the Terminal Car Park 2.
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Videos on social media shows the enormous flames and billowing smoke ripping through the newly built car park.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident at 9.38pm.
They said the fire is believed to be accidental and started in a vehicle that arrived at the car park shortly before 9pm.
At the blaze's peak, there were 15 fire engines in attendance and over 100 firefighters.
Flights have been cancelled since the fire broke out and were initially paused until noon, but they have now been halted further.
Luton Airport issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) with the update: "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.
"For queries relating to a parked vehicle or future booking please contact [email protected].
"Passengers should contact their airline for information regarding their flight."
With a capacity for 1,900, the car park reportedly had 1,500 cars in it at the time and hundreds are said to have been destroyed.
This has left many people stranded at the airport, with no way of getting home after their vehicles were caught in the blaze.
Four firefighters and a member of airport staff were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service also issued the following update this morning: "Crews have worked extremely hard throughout the night and into the early morning to control and extinguish the fire.
"Firefighting operations are monitoring the smoldering remains and will continue throughout the day.
"Currently four crews and an aerial appliance remain at the scene, and crews are working in conjunction with the airport fire service."
It also gave advice to those planning to travel today: "All flights are suspended until 3pm. If you have a flight leaving before 3pm, please do not travel to the airport. Please avoid the area owing to severe traffic delays."
The service has also said an investigation into what caused this huge fire will take place.
Flights from Luton Airport are currently halted until 3pm.
Jess Battison