A fire in the departure lounge has caused chaos at Stansted airport with flights being delayed and crowds of evacuated passengers stuck waiting in the cold or the packed check-in area.
The small fire happened in part of the departure area called the Escape Lounge at around 3.30am.
The hub, a base for Jet2.com, Ryanair and TUI Airways, said security was forced to close due to the incident.
It has been extinguished but flights will not leave the airport until later this morning, a spokesperson said.
Some 16 departures from Stansted this morning were delayed by 45 minutes or more, according to FlightRadar24 data.
