Flights diverted to Manchester Airport amid fire chaos at Luton Airport
11.10.2023 - 09:31
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A number of flights scheduled to land at Luton Airport this morning have been diverted to Manchester Airport and other locations across the UK after the airport was forced to close when a fire ripped through a multi-storey car park. The fire broke out shortly before 9pm on Tuesday evening and appears to have destroyed hundreds of cars.
Luton Airport said in a statement on Wednesday morning that emergency services remain at the scene and flights would be suspended until 3pm, having initially been paused until noon. At least 140 flights due to take off or land at Luton Airport have been cancelled since the fire started, according to analysis of flight data websites by PA news agency.
A further 17 arrivals were diverted to airports including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Gatwick, Liverpool John Lennon, Manchester and Stansted. This means around 25,000 passengers have been affected.
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Wizz Air and easyJet are among the worst affected as they operate the most flights at Luton Airport. The fire was on the third floor of the terminal car park two and footage posted on social media showed flames and smoke tearing through cars parked at the newly-built airport car park.
In a statement released this morning, Luton Airport urged passengers not to travel to the airport as access is still restricted. The statement said: “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