Luton Airport fire: Man arrested over car park blaze

A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after a fire that destroyed more than 1,400 vehicles at Luton Airport.

The blaze broke out on level three of Terminal Car Park 2 on 10 October.

Bedfordshire Police said the man was released on bail while the inquiry continued.

Efforts are under way to remove about 100 of the cars from the top deck of the car park in order to stabilise the structure.

The force said that the man had been arrested several days after the fire, which was declared a major incident and attended by more than 100 firefighters.

The investigation so far suggests the fire started accidentally due to a vehicle fault.

"We are carrying out a thorough and diligent investigation into all potential lines of inquiry, as should be expected after such a major event," a police spokesperson added.

Regarding the current condition of the car park, a London Luton Airport spokesman said: "Having worked with our engineers, experts and insurers, we are getting closer every day to making a final decision on what is going to happen to the car park and the vehicles contained within it.

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

The airport said it had provided the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) with the registration details of 1,405 vehicles and, along with its parking provider APCOA, it had responded to almost 16,500 customer queries since the fire.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was unlikely that any of the cars would be salvageable.

The flames spread across multiple floors of the car park and caused a partial collapse of the structure.

The fire is thought to have started in a diesel car - possibly a Range Rover - before spreading rapidly.

Airport bosses said the car park was likely to be demolished and the operation to remove the cars would help to stabilise it.

The driverless shuttle link that carries passengers to the airport reopened at the weekend after the fire forced the suspension of the service.

While the Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (Dart) was undamaged, safety concerns prompted the suspension of its services.

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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