Update: Luton Airport fire now extinguished and site now reopen after firefighters work through the night to quell the huge blaze

The UK's fifth biggest airport, Luton, has now reopened after being shut down overnight. The move comes following a massive blaze in a multi-storey car park that forced the closure of the busy Bedfordshire travel hub.

Flights were suspended until 3pm on Wednesday afternoon (October 11) at the airport, following a major fire that started on Tuesday evening (October 10).

The blaze tore through the airport's recently developed multi-storey car park at the airport which first provisionally opened in December 2018 as part of an ongoing £160m redevelopment.

At least 70 easyJet, Ryanair and WIzz Air departures were cancelled as well as more than 50 arrivals - with disruption set to continue into Thursday and the weekend.

Bedfordshire fire and rescue service declared a major incident at the airport, sending more than 100 firefighters, 15 fire engines and three specialist aerial appliances to fight the blaze. Thanks to the efforts of the firefighters the fire was eventually extinguished around 930am today, Wednesday.

Surrounding main roads are now open once again, but delays are expected on the airport approach, with replacement buses in operation instead of the new Dart shuttle from nearby Luton railway station.

Nub News understands that more than 1,200 cars and vehicles that were in the car park have been damaged. It is believed the source of the fire to be a car, although the exact cause has not yet been established.

"We've got no intelligence to suggest it's anything other than an accidental fire that started in one of the vehicles," said Beds fire chief Andrew Hopkinson.

Hopkinson added that there were no safety sprinklers in the car park despite firefighters advising the airport to make sure they were fitted as a precaution. The local fire chief added: "Sprinklers may have made a positive impact on this incident."

Six firefighters and a member of the public had to be taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

Beds fire and rescue also confirmed that the structure had suffered a significant structural collapse' and that half the car park had been 'fully involved in the fire.'