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The cause of a huge blaze at London’s Luton Airport that damaged up to 1,500 cars and sparked travel chaos has been revealed.
More than 100 firefighters battled through the night to extinguish the car park inferno, which left tens of thousands of passengers facing cancelled or diverted flights.
With flights set to be disrupted for most of the day, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has now revealed the cause of the blaze was a diesel car.
“We don’t believe it was an electric vehicle,” Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said.
“It’s believed to be diesel-powered, at this stage all subject to verification. And then that fire has quickly and rapidly spread.”
Up to 1,500 vehicles may have been damaged by the fire, which broke out on the third floor of the newly-built Terminal 2 car park at around 9pm on Tuesday. The car park partially collapsed as a result of the fire.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Mr Hopkinson said: “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 major incident was stood down after the fire was brought under control on Wednesday morning, but flight disruption is still expected until 3pm.
AA technical expert Greg Carter said the most common cause of car fires is an electrical fault with the 12-volt battery system.
He added that diesel is “much less flammable” than petrol and in a car it takes “intense pressure or sustained flame” to ignite diesel.
There were no reports of injuries to members of the public, but five people – four firefighters and an airline official – were treated in hospital.
Between 40,000 and 50,000 passengers are thought to have been affected by 273 suspended, cancelled or diverted flights.
A Polish family on holiday in London told how they slept on the floor at Luton Airport as a result of the fire.
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.”
Airport hotels nearby Luton have reportedly all been fully booked, as passengers remain uncertain of their travel plans.
The fire service posted on Twitter/X on Wednesday morning: “The fire service have now scaled back at Luton Airport and this is no longer a major incident. A number of agencies have been released from the scene and we continue to work with colleagues from the airport and police.”
They added that the fire service would continue to be on the scene for the rest of the day after extinguishing the fire.
Mr Hopskinson also revealed to reporters at the scene that there were no sprinklers in the car park.
He said: “We are already talking to the airport about ensuring that any future, and the existing, car parks have sprinklers fitted because this building is not sprinkler protected.
“Sprinklers may have made a positive impact on this incident.”
People with cars affected have been advised to refer to the Luton Airport website for further information.
Mr Hopkinson told reporters 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.
“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.”
A senior fire officer told The Independent that the fire inside the car park was so intense that the whole structure may need to be demolished.
“They’ll probably fly a drone around to assess the damage,” they said.
“But once steel gets above 600 degrees [C] it become brittle. It was a lot more than 600 degrees in there.”
Officials have confirmed that arrivals and departures will resume at Luton airport at 3pm. By that stage 120 outbound flights are likely to have been cancelled – though some airlines may hold earlier flights to depart after operations start up.
A temporary drop-off zone will be installed at the mid-term car park, close to the Holiday Inn Express, a 10-minute walk from the airport terminal. Buses may provide a shuttle service.
The Independent understands that airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz Air will despatch aircraft to Luton ahead of the 3pm reopening.
