London flights resume after gigantic airport fire

The burnt out shells of cars, buried amongst debris of a multi-story parking garage at Luton Airport in London.
The burnt out shells of cars, buried amongst debris of a multi-story parking garage that caught fire at Luton Airport in London. Photo credit Jacob King/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA

Thousands of travelers are dealing with disruption after a fire tore through a newly built parking garage at London's Luton Airport, destroying vehicles and partially collapsing the structure.

The fire was declared a major incident, with firefighters working through the night and into the early hours of Wednesday to extinguish the blaze.

Video from the scene shows flames billowing from the top floor of the parking structure. Around 1,500 vehicles were in the garage when the fire broke out, CNN reported.

All flights were suspended, roads around the area were closed off and passengers were warned to avoid the airport. Four firefighters and an airport employee were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, BBC News reported.

By Wednesday afternoon, airport operations were starting to get back to normal again.

"The runway is now open, and flights are beginning to arrive and depart," the airport posted on social media just before 4 p.m. local time.

Officials do not believe the fire was intentionally set but the investigation is ongoing.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Jacob King/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA