London Stansted Airport announced on Wednesday that several of its early morning flights would face delays. This follows a small fire in an airport lounge that filled the area with smoke, forcing the temporary closure of its security checkpoints to ensure passenger safety.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 a.m. local time at the airport, located north of London. Firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control. As a precautionary measure, the immediate vicinity was evacuated, and the entire security area was temporarily shut down.
By 6 a.m. — just 20 minutes after the airport’s first scheduled departure of the day — security operations had resumed. However, airport spokesman Mark Davison indicated that significant delays were still expected.
“There will definitely be delays just because passengers haven’t been able to get to their flights,” Davison stated.
He further added that the ultimate extent of the delays would largely depend on how individual airlines manage their flight schedules and passenger re-routing.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.