In the early hours of this morning, a blaze broke out at London’s Stansted Airport, resulting in scenes of chaos and significant passenger delays. As the mayhem continues, travellers whose journeys have been affected continue to look for answers
Chaos erupted at London’s Stansted Airport this morning, after a fire forced passengers to flee. But what exactly happened? It’s understood that a blaze broke out at approximately 3.30 am in the departure area’s Escape Lounge, with staff and emergency services responding at the scene.
Scenes of mayhem have been widely shared on social media, with one passenger tweeting, “Stansted Airport is a mess right now.” Another shared: “I’m sure I can speak for the hundreds of passengers currently corned [sic] into one side of the departures hall.”No communication around why we have been rounded up, we have been removed from our meals, no updates given and only heard about a fire from ‘earwigging’.”
Although the airport was reopened at 6am, disgruntled passengers are still having to contend with delays due to the backlog. One traveller says her Ryanair flight left without her, claiming, “We were very patient, but our flight left without us. It was chaotic, and there was no communication. Ryanair personnel stated it was not their responsibility, so who covers the cost of our flight and parking?”
As travellers continue to share their frustrations, here’s everything we know about how the fire broke out, how passengers are being affected and what rights travellers now have…
READ MORE: London Stansted Airport fire: Passengers face travel chaos as flights delayed
What size was the fire?
A spokesperson for Stansted stated that part of the airport had to be closed off after crews were faced with what has been described as a “small fire”, which reportedly caused a “significant amount of smoke” at 3:30am.
According to this spokesperson, this blaze was quickly extinguished by the airport fire service, and there were no reports of any passengers being injured.
What caused the fire?
At the time of writing, the cause of the fire has not been given. It’s also unclear as to the extent of the damage to the lounge. Given that this is understood to be a minor blaze, we can assume that any damage is not too extensive.
Delays and compensation
London Stansted issued a statement on social media today at 6:30am announcing that the airport had reopened, and that passengers would be able to get through security. However, travellers were warned to expect increased waiting times. Further updates will be given in due course.
“Following the fire in our Escape Lounge earlier this morning, the departure lounge is now open and passengers are being processed through security, though waiting times may be longer than usual in the circumstances,” a statement read.
“Flights were not suspended, and both departures and arrivals are operating. Some flights may be subject to delays, and passengers are advised to check with their airlines. We thank all the passengers for their patience as we ensured the terminal was safe for them to re-enter.”
Jet2, Stansted’s second-largest operator, cancelled three flights bound for the Greek islands of Heraklion, Santorini and Lesbos.Jet2.
Although rules around passenger rights don’t cover cases when airport issues cause missed flights, it is possible that passengers will be permitted to rebook on later flights without charge.
The Mirror has reached out to Ryanair for comment.
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