London’s Luton Airport has suspended all flights until midday Wednesday after a fire caused a partial collapse of one of its car parks, its management said, AFP writes.

“The safety of our passengers and staff remains our top priority. We have therefore taken the decision to suspend all flights until Wednesday 11 October 12:00, 11:00 GMT, the airport is located approximately forty kilometers north of central London and is served by several budget airlines.

The Terminal 2 car park suffered “significant structural damage”, Bedfordshire Fire Service said in a statement.

Fifteen fire engines responded to the fire, which engulfed half of the multi-story building and involved many vehicles.

Flights are suspended until 12pm BST on Wednesday for the safety of passengers and staff, the airport said.

Four firefighters and an airport employee were taken to the hospital due to smoke inhalation, and another person was examined at the scene.

Hundreds of people were left stranded in Luton this morning unable to get home.

Many told the BBC that their cars were parked.

All the hotels are booked and many passengers claim that the airlines have simply let them down.

There is an increased police presence at the scene of the accident and many officers are doing their best to remove people from the scene. For some of the stranded passengers, English is not their first language.

Many of them rush with their luggage to Luton Airport station, trying to catch a train or bus to other airports to catch flights in the next few hours.

London Luton Airport is the UK’s fifth largest airport after Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted, handling more than 13 million passengers in 2022.

The emergency services said the critical incident had been brought to an end but would “remain at the scene to support our fellow firefighters and first responders”.

Images shared online showed huge flames and smoke rising from the top floor of the building.

The airport reported that the car fire had spread.

Car alarms and loud explosions were heard and one witness described the speed with which the fire spread to the top floor of the car park as “unbelievable”.

The fire service said the first call to the fire came in at 20:47 BST.

“Firefighters are working to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings and other vehicles,” the firefighters also noted.

Police and EMS are on the scene, and firefighters have advised residents in the area to close windows and doors and avoid the area.

An airport statement said: “All flights are currently suspended while emergency services respond to a car fire that has spread to the Terminal 2 car park.”

“Access to the airport is currently restricted and we ask that people do not travel to the airport at this time. Further updates will follow,” airport officials said.

They said additional staff were available to assist passengers and told them to contact their airline for flight information.

The airport’s website states that the parking lot that caught fire is “just a five-minute walk from the terminal entrance.”