Luton Airport fire: Holidaymakers ‘left in limbo’ after car park blaze

Holidaymakers who left their cars at Luton Airport say they have been “left in limbo” after a vehicle fire caused a terminal car park to collapse.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident at 9.38pm on Tuesday and, at its peak, had 15 fire engines, three specialist aerial appliances and more than 100 firefighters at the scene.

Andrew Hopkinson, chief fire officer at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said as many as 1,500 vehicles were in the car park at the time – with up to 1,200 believed to be damaged.

Katie Forbes, 42, who lives on the outskirts of Coventry, had travelled to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands with her husband, daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend, and is due to return on Friday.

The group, who parked in Car Park 2, have been forced to hire a car for their return – with no information regarding the state of their vehicle.

Ms Forbes told the PA news agency: “I’ve had no joy with Luton. I’ve heard nothing back, I’ve been tweeting them, everything, and nothing.

“I get it, they’re getting other people that are going to the airport, but to me there’s been no apology, not once has anybody said ‘we’re sorry about the situation’.

“We’re kind of left in limbo.”

Ms Forbes added her daughter had left her own car keys in the parked car as well.

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Thomas Willett, 29, a content manager for a real estate firm, from Essex, had travelled to Gran Canaria with his partner, arriving on Tuesday evening and had parked their car on the third floor of Terminal Car Park 2.

“We don’t know if our car has been damaged or not, or how we will be getting home from the airport,” Mr Willett told PA.

“Their duty of care should be to those whose vehicles have been impacted, but they seem to be replying to everyone else with other queries instead.”

Mr Willett is due to return home on Sunday but said: “Currently, we have no means of getting back home.”

Lucy Lynam, a 42-year-old accountant from Hertfordshire who had to attend a conference in Majorca and parked her car on Tuesday morning, told PA: “I’m parked on level 2 against the perimeter fence [facing row C], nearest the apron, which, from the videos, seems where the bulk of the damage has happened.

“However, I’m still none the wiser as to the state of my car. I would appreciate more information as to where the fire started based on a map view, maybe with a plan of row letters etc so I can estimate the likelihood of the level of damage to my car.

“I’m expecting the worst.”