Luton Airport passenger terminal evacuated after fire alarm set off by broken light

It was unclear what caused the alert on Tuesday afternoon

Luton airport (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Thousands of passengers were evacuated from London Luton Airport this afternoon after a faulty light fitting set off an automatic fire alarm.

Travellers were herded out of the terminal as a precaution at 1.45pm as the alert sounded and fire crews were automatically sent to the scene.

A faulty light had started a small electrical fire in the baggage reclaim area and passengers were quickly let back into the building when firefighters made sure the scene was safe.

The reason for the evacuation was initially unclear, sparking online speculation about a fire or security problem.

A spokesperson for the airport said: "London Luton Airport can confirm that a fire alarm was activated at 13:45 due to a faulty light fitting in baggage reclaim.

"Fire crews attended as a precaution and one flight with arriving passengers was held whilst the light fitting was inspected.

"No departing flights were affected and operations have resumed as normal."

Luton Airport is one of the busiest in the UK and handled a record of 10.5 million passengers last year.