Luton Airport Fire: Cars to be removed to stabilise car park

Up to 100 cars are set to be removed from the top of a car park destroyed in a major blaze at Luton Airport.

The fire broke out on level three of Car Park Terminal 2 and is thought to have started in a diesel car before spreading rapidly.

Airport bosses say the car park is likely to be demolished and the operation to remove the cars will help stabilise it.

More than 1,400 vehicles were destroyed in the blaze, on 10 October.

The car park remains unsafe with adverse weather not helping, the airport said.

The driverless shuttle link that carries passengers to the airport reopened earlier after the blaze forced the suspension of the service.

In a statement Neil Thompson, operations director at the airport, said he has been working with engineers, experts and insurers to make a final decision on the car park and vehicles inside.

"Working with our structural engineers, we now plan to remove around 100 cars from the top deck of the car park for the purposes of stabilising the structure," he said.

"Once removed, these cars will be stored in a safe compound and we will contact customers and work with insurers to inform them of the process of recovery for those cars. Only then will it be possible to assess the condition of those cars.

"For all other vehicles in the car park, the assessment remains largely unchanged, which is that no cars can currently be accessed or removed.

"The structure remains fundamentally unsafe and the adverse weather over the last few days hasn't helped."

The Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (Dart) has been closed since the blaze broke out.

While it was undamaged, safety concerns prompted the suspension.

The Dart arrives at the airport through a 500m (1,604ft) tunnel, which runs close to the car park.

A replacement bus service was in place while the shuttle was closed.

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