A traveller has described the "chaos" after a car park at one of the country's busiest airports went up in flames.

The blaze cancelled dozens of flights at Luton Airport, leaving travellers scratching their heads, including Argus reporter Zac Sherratt, who was set to be jetting off to the Lithuanian capital this morning.

The Argus: Flames coming from the airport car parkFlames coming from the airport car park (Image: Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service)

He said: "I found out about the fire last night, but I thought I would go to the airport anyway to see the scale of the disruption and see if my flight was available.

"But when I arrived, it was quickly apparent - because of the number of people asleep in the foyer - that my flight was not going to be happening anytime soon."

The Argus: A number of people were sleeping on the ground at the airportA number of people were sleeping on the ground at the airport (Image: Zac Sherratt)

The car park at Luton Airport went up in flames shortly before 9pm yesterday evening as firefighters worked through the night to bring it under control.

Airport operations were halted and at least 140 flights have been cancelled since the fire started.

The Argus: Damage to the airport car parkDamage to the airport car park (Image: Jacob King / PA)

Around 1,200 cars are believed to have been damaged and Zac is one of 25,000 airline passengers affected by the fire.


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"On the grand scheme of things I'm quite lucky," he said.

The Argus: Airline passengers watch over the scene Airline passengers watch over the scene (Image: Lucy North / PA)

"Nobody knew when the end of this would be. The atmosphere was quite chaotic due to the number of people trying to work out how they were going to get to their destination.

"There were lots of staff members around trying to help, but unfortunately they didn't really know the answer to the problem because the situation was ongoing."

The Argus: Flights have been cancelled up to 3pm todayFlights have been cancelled up to 3pm today (Image: Zac Sherratt)

His Wizz Air flight to Vilnius was set to take off at 8.40am, meaning he left home at around 3.30 this morning, however this was one of the hundreds cancelled.

The fire was out when he arrived with crews damping down the charred remains of the car park.

The Argus: A sign at the Dart station after the fireA sign at the Dart station after the fire (Image: Zac Sherratt)

The Dart train, running between the railway station and the airport terminal, was not running due to the inferno.

The inconvenienced reporter said: "There were streams of people walking down the road from Luton to the station. There were no buses or coaches, so we had to walk.


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"It was absolute chaos, and despite the news coverage there was still people turning up. Dozens hopeful that their flight will take off.

"I can't see any flight going out of the airport today," he said.

A Luton Airport spokesman said all flights are currently suspended until 3pm on Wednesday, October 11.


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Despite this the reporter said he is "looking forward to getting stuck in tomorrow" after a chaotic morning at Luton.

The Argus: A Wizz Air plane at LutonA Wizz Air plane at Luton

He is currently on his way to Heathrow Airport for a flight later this evening to Warsaw, and then onwards to Vilnius.

"I'm juggling severe tiredness and the excitement for going abroad - two very contrasting feelings.

"My holiday has definitely been dampened as I've missed a day of the activities I had planned but I'm looking forward to getting stuck in tomorrow."