London Luton Airport, in the United Kingdom, came to a standstill on Tuesday evening as a fire erupted in a parking garage. At around 1:15 AM UK time, the airport announced that a section of the building had collapsed due to the fire, leading to the suspension of air traffic until at least Wednesday afternoon at 12:00 UK time.
Crazy scenes at #LutonAirport last night, fortunately nobody suffered any serious injury.
Due to a combination of so many cars catching fire and then the car park collapsing, hundreds of cars were destroyed pic.twitter.com/m8dQgwJglh
— Mark (@_phantom_1974) October 11, 2023
The fire broke out at approximately 9:00 PM on Tuesday in a newly constructed parking garage at the airport. British media released images depicting a severe blaze engulfing a multi-story structure. Witnesses have reported exploding vehicles on social media platforms.
Efforts are still ongoing to extinguish a serious fire at Luton Airport. We are continuing to protect surrounding airport infrastructure, vehicles and the Luton DART. For anyone whose travel plans may be affected, please refer to the advice being provided by London Luton Airport. pic.twitter.com/tNFo4hvRdX
— Beds Fire and Rescue (@BedsFire) October 11, 2023
Local emergency services, communicated on X (formerly Twitter), have reported that five individuals have been hospitalized as a result of the fire. This includes four firefighters and one airport staff member. A sixth person received on-site medical attention.
“We have decided to suspend all flights until Wednesday, October 11, at 12:00 PM British time,” the airport announced on its website. Passengers are advised not to come to the airport, and instead, they are encouraged to contact their respective airlines for information regarding their flights.
Update at 01:14 pic.twitter.com/Qol6Ifg1oC
— London Luton Airport (@LDNLutonAirport) October 11, 2023
