Irish flights cancelled as huge fire breaks out in Luton airport

Steve Hopkins

Six fire fighters were taken to hospital.

Multiple Irish flights have been suspended or cancelled after a massive fire broke out in the carpark of Luton airport in the UK.

The blaze caused the car park to collapse and led to six firefighters being taken to hospital. They had reportedly suffered the effects of smoke inhalation. Another patient was treated at the scene.

Footage shared on social media shows huge flames engulfing the car park building and smoke billowing from the top floors, after the blaze broke out around 9pm Tuesday.

All flights have been suspended until 3pm today, October 11.Ryanair flights from Luton landing in Dublin at 7.55am and 6.50pm have been cancelled, along with departing flights at 8.20am and 7.15pm.

Police have asked people not to travel to the area and the airport has also advised people to stay away.

The carpark building suffered a “significant structural collapse”. Around 1,200 vehicles were parked there and were damaged, the fire service said.

These exclusive pictures from Luton Airport Carpark Fire #LutonAirport I’ll be live on @BBCBreakfast reporting on the latest from 6am. pic.twitter.com/XMk4waZijF

— Greg McKenzie (@GregMcTweets) October 11, 2023

Huge carpark fire shuts down Luton airport

The airport said its priority was to support emergency services and the safety of passengers and staff, which is why flights had been suspended. The airport is currently closed.

In a statement at 3am on Wednesday, the airport said: “Emergency services continue to respond to a significant fire in Terminal car park 2, which has resulted in a partial structural collapse.”

The BBC reported that hundreds of people were left stranded in Luton, with no way of getting home with many saying their cars were in the car park.

Crews have controlled and extinguished the fire at Luton Airport. Four crews and an aerial appliance remain at the scene. All flights are suspended until 3pm. If you have a flight leaving before 3pm, please do not travel. Please avoid the area owing to severe traffic delays. pic.twitter.com/ji5HR1Qmug

— Beds Fire and Rescue (@BedsFire) October 11, 2023

Many were also scrambling with their luggage to Luton Airport’s train station in a bid to catch a train or coach to other airports in order to catch flights in the next few hours.

All the hotels in the area are fully booked and many passengers said the airlines have simply dumped them.

London Luton Airport is the UK’s fifth largest airport after Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted, carrying more than 13 million passengers in 2022.