Over a hundred cars removed from burnt car park at Luton Airport

Two weeks have gone since Luton Airport's Car Park 2 caught fire and caused the structure of the building to partially collapse.

Passengers witnessed their vehicles go up in flames from the airport, with flights suspended until the late afternoon the next day, causing major disruptions to thousands of travellers.

Structural engineers have been working to evaluate the safety of the structure, and operations to remove vehicles from the burnt car park are now underway.

Vehicles located on the open top part of the building are being carefully removed with the help of a crane, and placed on a safe surface.

Corporate Affairs Director, Oliver Jaycock, said: "We've been working with the structural engineers for the past week, supporting the bottom of the car park with some additional bracing."

"...The level directly beneath the top deck is the most fragile..."

"The work taking place this week is removing around 105 vehicles from the top deck, and that will allow us to remove around 130 tons of weight."

Passengers whose vehicles were in the car park when it caught fire were told to contact their insurance companies, as they were informed their cars may never be retrieved.

Mr Jaycock said: "Now they're on the ground they can be assessed, and we'll be reaching out to the individuals concerned in due course."

On lower levels, vehicles most affected by the fire and still at risk of a full building collapse stand less of a chance of being recovered, but the hope is that removing vehicles from the top deck could prevent further damage.

Mr Jaycock said: "Level four, the level directly beneath the top deck, is the most fragile, so by removing these vehicles it obviously takes that weight away and eliminates the potential risk of collapse."