One of the UK's busiest airports has suspended all of its flights after the extreme temperatures recorded in the country on Monday resulted in part of the runway melting, with several Edinburgh easyJet routes delayed.
Temperatures in the UK reached upwards of 36C on Monday, July 18, as Luton Airport was forced to suspend all of its flights, including easyJet, Ryanair, Whizz and TUI.
The Daily Mirror reports that a spokesperson announced that all flights outbound were suspended and any flights due to arrive in Luton airport were being diverted.
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Several easyJet flights took off from Edinburgh on Monday night, as well as Tuesday morning - all of which will be diverted as long as the issue goes unresolved.
The last flight believed to have taken off was at 3:07pm from Luton, with the airport only having one runway.
One furious passenger tweeted: "How long will this take?!?!?"
Another wrote: "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 spokesperson for Luton Airport said: "Following today's high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway. Engineers were called immediately to the 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 RAF has also halted flights in and out of its largest air base in the UK, Brize Norton, because the "runway has melted", according to reports.
It comes after several Edinburgh businesses notified customers that they were closing due to the amber weather warning for extreme heat, as well as ScotRail informing passengers of potential disruption on Monday and Tuesday.
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