Fire at Stansted Airport forces cancellations of some Irish flights

Parts of the Stansted Airport terminal building were evacuated earlier on Friday due to smoke after a fire on a car park shuttle bus broke out on the terminal forecourt. No injuries were reported.

At about 7.30pm the airport announced all departing flights had been cancelled, updating this at 9pm to say all departures until midnight had been cancelled.

Ryanair flights from Dublin due to arrive at the airport at 6.55pm, 8.20pm and 9.55pm were all cancelled.

Ryanair flights due in Dublin from the airport, scheduled to arrive at 6.30pm, 7.55pm and 9.30pm, were cancelled also.

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The airport said: “All departing flights have now been cancelled and passengers are politely asked to leave the airport. We apologise for the inconvenience and advise you to re-book your flight with the airline.”

The evacuation meant all passengers had to be rescreened through security, the airport said in a tweet. The fire was extinguished in the early evening.

“Following a shuttle bus fire on the terminal forecourt, the Express Set Down remains closed,” the airport said earlier. “Due to the earlier evacuation of the terminal, all passengers are now in the process of being rescreened through security.

“Our teams are working hard to rescreen all passengers due to depart this evening. Thank you for you patience and co-operation while we’re returning our operations to normal.”

The airport said there had been no injuries reported after the fire, which it said was caused by an engine electrical fault on the bus.

The airport advised intending passengers to check with their airlines in advance.