2023-10-11 07:59:33
London’s Luton Airport has suspended all flights until Wednesday followingnoon due to a major fire, it announced. The fire caused the partial collapse of one of its parking lots and injured several people. A connection with Geneva is canceled.
“We have taken the decision to suspend all flights until 3:00 p.m.” (4 p.m. in Switzerland), the airport said on X. “Our priority remains to support emergency services as well as the safety of our passengers and of our staff. During the night, the airport announced a suspension until noon local time.
The connection between Luton and Switzerland is also affected. The Wednesday morning rotation departing from Geneva at 10:20 a.m. is canceled, Geneva airport spokesperson Ignace Jeannerat told Keystone-ATS. Wednesday night’s rotation is not confirmed.
Luton, located regarding forty kilometers north of central London and served by several low-cost airlines, has advised passengers not to go there “as access remains very limited”.
The fire broke out around 9:00 p.m. local time in a recently built parking lot. Up to 1,200 vehicles in this parking lot were damaged. Images broadcast by British media show a multi-story building on fire near a terminal. Witnesses on social media reported explosions.
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“Significant collapse”
Local ambulance services told X that five people – four firefighters and an airport employee – had been admitted to hospital. Another injured person was treated on site, said the same source.
Firefighters said they were working on the site to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other buildings. “The structure of the building suffered a significant collapse,” Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said on X.
Passengers quoted in British media said their flight was canceled following they had already boarded. Russell Taylor, 41, who was able to land from Edinburgh in Scotland, explained to the British agency Press Association (PA) that the disaster then developed at an “incredible” speed.
“There were a few fire engines with a car on fire on the upper level of the parking lot just following 9 p.m.,” he described. “A few minutes later, the entire floor was burning with alarms going off and loud explosions coming from the burning cars.” Luton Airport saw 13 million passengers pass through in 2022. It is served in particular by the companies easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air.
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