Luton airport has suspended flights after today’s (July 18) heatwave caused a surface defect on the runway.
According to Sky News, the last flight to take off from the airport – which has just one runway – departed at 3.07pm.
The airport said engineers have been called to repair the defect, with hopes operations will resume shortly.
A spokesperson for the airport said: “Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway. Engineers were called immediately to site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as soon as possible.
“We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Rail services have also been disrupted by the soaring temperatures, which today saw Wales provisionally record its hottest ever day, reaching 31.7C in Hawarden, Flintshire.
National Rail has warned the hot weather can cause the steel rails to “expand and buckle”, as tracks can get up to 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature.
It said: “When this happens, we stop trains to keep everyone safe. If there is no room for the rail to expand, the rail can buckle and we need to close the line to fix it before trains can run again.”