Luton airport: Runway forced to close due to heatwave damage

Luton Airport’s runway was closed on Monday (July 18) after heat damage was spotted, according to travellers whose flights were grounded.
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One passenger who runs the Don’t Let Dunstable Die facebook site, whose flight was about to leave, said on Twitter: “They have just closed the runway at Luton airport for at least an hour. We were just about to be pushed back and they stopped everything. Inbound flights are being diverted.”

A London Luton Airport spokesperson said: “Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway. Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as soon as possible. We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

The runway reopened shortly after 6pm.

The Met Office has issued a red alert after temperatures were expected to be around 39-40C over Monday and Tuesday this week.

You can check current flight delays here.