An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938. During theSecond World War, the airport was used by fighters of theRoyal Air Force. Commercial activity andgeneral aviation flight training at Luton resumed during 1952. By the 1960s, Luton Airport was playing a key role in the development of thepackage holiday business; by 1969, a fifth of all holiday flights from the UK departed from Luton Airport. From the mid-1960s,executive aircraft have been based at the airport. During the late 1970s, an expansion plan was initiated at Luton to accommodate as many as 5 million passengers per year, although the airport experienced a reduction in passenger numbers in the 1980s. In 1990, the airport was renamedLondon Luton Airport to try and emphasise the airport's proximity to the capital.
The arrival of new operators at Luton during the 1990s, such ascharter operatorMyTravel Group and newlow-cost scheduled flights fromDebonair andEasyJet, contributed to a rapid increase in passenger numbers that made it the fastest growing major airport in the UK. In August 1997, to fund an £80million extension of the airport, a 30-year concession contract was issued to apublic-private partnership consortium,London Luton Airport Operations Limited. Throughout the 1990s, £30million was invested in Luton's infrastructure and facilities. In November 1999, a new £40million terminal was opened byQueen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; the new building houses 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems and a range of commercial outlets. During 2004/5, the departure and arrivals lounges and other facilities were redeveloped at a cost of £38million.
In 2018, over 16.5 million passengers passed through the airport, a record total for Luton making it thefifth busiest airport in the UK.[8] It is the fourth-largest airport serving the London area afterHeathrow,Gatwick andStansted, and is one of London's six international airports along withLondon City andSouthend. The airport serves as a base foreasyJet,TUI Airways,Ryanair andWizz Air and previously served as a base forMonarch Airlines until it ceased operations in October 2017. The vast majority of the routes served are within Europe, although there are some charter and scheduled routes to destinations in Northern Africa and Asia.
Luton Municipal Airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by theSecretary of State for Air,Kingsley Wood.[9][10] Situated where the valley of theRiver Lea cuts its way through the north-east end of theChiltern Hills, the airport occupies a hill-top location, with a roughly 40 m (130 ft) drop-off at the western end of therunway.[11][12][13] The airport, which was owned by theBorough of Luton, was considered to be the northern terminal for neighbouringLondon.[14]
During theSecond World War, the airport was used by theRoyal Air Force, fighters ofNo. 264 Squadron being based there.[14] Following the end of the conflict, the site was returned to the local council. In 1952 activity at the airport resumed on a commercial basis, a newcontrol tower being opened around this time.[14]
British aviation companyPercival Aircraft had its factory at the airport until the early 1960s. Since the mid-1960s,executive aircraft have been based at the airport, initially operated by McAlpine Aviation. These activities have grown and several executive jet operators and maintenance companies are currently based at Luton.[15][citation needed]
In the 1960s, Luton Airport played a key role in the development of thepackage holiday business, in which the popularity of the foreign holiday rose substantially, as the launch of new services had allowed greater numbers of people to travel abroad for the first time.[14] Luton became the operating base for severalcharter airlines, such asAutair (which went on to becomeCourt Line),Euravia (nowTUI Airways, following Euravia's change of name toBritannia Airways and subsequent merger withFirst Choice Airways and TUI rebrand) andDan-Air.
By 1969, a fifth of all holiday flights from the UK departed from Luton Airport; during 1972, Luton Airport was the most profitable airport in the country.[14] However, Luton suffered a severe setback in August 1974 when majorpackage holiday operatorClarksons and its in-house airlineCourt Line (which also operated coach links) ceased operations and wereliquidated.[9] Nevertheless, by 1978, the airport's management initiated an expansion plan as to allow Luton to accommodate as many as 5 million passengers per year.[14]
During the 1980s, the airport experienced a decline in customer numbers; this was due to lack of reinvestment while the nearbyLondon Stansted Airport, which was also located north of London, was growing. The council responded to lobbying and focused again on developing the airport. In 1985, a new international terminal building was opened by the then Prince of Wales (nowCharles III).[14] Further updates and changes over the following 15 years were made, including the opening of a new international terminal and automated baggage handling facility, a new control tower with updated air traffic control systems, a new cargo centre and runway upgrades. In 1987, Luton Airport became alimited company, of which Luton Borough Council was the sole shareholder; this reorganisation was taken as it was felt that the airport ought to be operated at arm's length via an independent management team.[14]
While developing the basic infrastructure, various business partners were courted and business models were considered. The process envisaged a cargo centre, an airport railway station, and people mover from station to airport terminal (hence the unused underpass parallel to the road as one approaches the terminal).[citation needed] During 1991, an attempt was made to sell Luton Airport, but it was unsuccessful; instead, a new management team was appointed to turn around the business, stem the losses, and improve passenger numbers. Over the following five years, £30million was invested in Luton's infrastructure and facilities.[14]
Originally, the airport's runways had been grass tracks 18/36 and 06/24, and then a concrete runway 08/26. By the end of the 1980s, there was only one runway, 08/26. The 18/36 grass runway had disappeared under alandfill, while 06/24 had effectively become ataxiway. For Luton to maintain viability, it was necessary to update airfield services, and achieveCAT III status. This meant updating theinstrument landing system (ILS); glidepath and localiser and removing the hump in the runway; even a six-foot person could not see one end of the runway from the other. The hump was removed by building up layers at the end of the runway; this was done over 72 successive nights between October 1988 and February 1989, with the height being raised 90 mm (3.5 inches) on one particular night. During the course of this work, the airport would re-open for flights during the day.[citation needed]
In 1990, the airport was renamedLondon Luton Airport to re-emphasise the airport's proximity to the UK capital.[14] In 1991, another setback occurred whenRyanair, which had flown from the airport to Ireland for a number of years, transferred its London operating base from Luton to rival Stansted. A decline in passenger numbers at Luton was attributed to this move.[14] Later in the 1990s,Airtours begancharter flights from the airport, using theAirtours International Airways brand and newlow-cost scheduled flights fromDebonair andeasyJet, the latter making Luton its base.[9] The arrival of these new operators marked a rapid increase in passenger numbers; during 1997/1998, 3.4 million people travelled via the airport, while 4.4 million travellers were recording during the following year, making Luton Airport the fastest growing major airport in the UK.[14]
In August 1997, to fund an £80million extension of the airport, the council issued a 30-year concession contract to apublic-private partnership consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Limited, a partnership of Airport Group International (AGI) andBarclays Private Equity. AGI was a specialist airport management and development company once owned byLockheed Martin. In 1999, AGI was sold toTBI plc; in 2001, Barclays also sold its shares in Luton to TBI plc.[9]
On 25 November 1999, a new £40 million terminal designed byFoster + Partners was officially opened byQueen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip. This terminal houses 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems and a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars.[9] The airport's railway station,Luton Airport Parkway was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on the same day and was built at a cost of £23million. By train, journey times to the airport from central London would be reduced to less than 30 minutes.[14]
The airport's logo 2001–2005The airport's logo 2005–2014
In September 2004, Luton Airport embarked on a 10-month project to develop the departure and arrivals lounges and other facilities at a cost of £38million; this work included a 9,000 sq ft (800 m2) area featuring a spectacular vaulted ceiling was completed with the new terminal, but intended to lie unused until required. On 1 July 2005, the new departure hall opened on schedule, featuring a boarding pier extending 200 m (660 ft) out between the airport's north and eastaprons and relocated security, customs and immigration facilities, as well as an expanded number of boarding gates from the previous number of 19 to 26.[16]
In 2004, the airport management announced that they supported the government plans to expand the facilities,[17] which included a full-length runway and a new terminal.[18] However, local campaign groups, including Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN)[19] and Stop Luton Airport Plan (SLAP)[20] opposed the new expansion plans, for reasons including noise pollution and traffic concerns; LADACAN also claimed that various sites, includingSomeries Castle, aScheduled Monument, would be threatened by the expansion. On 6 July 2007, it was announced that the owners of London Luton Airport had decided to scrap plans to build a second runway and new terminal for financial reasons.[21] In order for the airport to expand further, theDepartment for Transport (DfT) advised the airport authority to use the airport site more efficiently. The DfT supports plans to extend the runway from its current 2,160 m (7,087 ft) length to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) and increase the length of thetaxiway. A full-length runway would increase airlines' operational flexibility by enabling the use of aircraft that have a greaterpayload capacity and longerrange than is currently possible. A longer taxiway would maximise runway use by reducing the need for taxiing aircraft to cross or move along the runway.[citation needed]
In January 2005, London Luton Airport Operations Limited was acquired by Airport Concessions Development Limited, a company owned byAbertis Infraestructuras (90%) andAena Internacional (10%), both Spanish companies.[9] In November 2013, ownership of London Luton Airport Operations Ltd passed to Aena andArdian.[2] In April 2018,AMP Capital acquired Ardian's 49% stake in the business.[22]
By 2006, the last flight training operator had ceased training from the airport.
In September 2016,La Compagnie announced it would cease operating its Luton to Newark service citing economic reasons.[24] Therefore, Luton lost its only long-haul service. In February 2017, Hungarian low-cost carrierWizz Air announced it would to open its first British base at Luton Airport inaugurating three new routes toTel Aviv,Pristina andKutaisi[25] in addition to more than a dozen already served ones from other bases.
In December 2018, a three-year redevelopment of the airport commenced. Costing roughly £160million, the airport management stated that the upgrade, which included new shops, a new boarding pier, and more boarding gates, would increase overall capacity by 50%, enabling the site to accommodate 18 million passengers by 2020. Campaigners from local pressure groups such as LADACAN have complained that the airport had failed to incorporate noise reduction measures into the plan, while an airport spokesman stated "Our noise control measures are some of the most stringent of any major UK airport", noting that it had applied for additional flight restrictions.[26] In addition, earlier that year, work had commenced on the construction of theLuton DART, anautomated guided people mover which will travel betweenLuton Airport Parkway station and the airport.[27][28] With costs estimated at £200million, DART eliminated the need for shuttle buses since its opening on 27 March 2023.[29][30]
The airport remains in municipal ownership, owned byLuton Borough Council but managed by the private sector London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL). London Luton Airport has aCivil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P835) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. An indicator of the importance of the airport to the economy of Luton is that Luton is reported to have the highest number of taxicabs per head of population in the United Kingdom.[31]
Luton Airport has a single, two-storey passenger terminal building which has been expanded and rearranged several times. The ground floor has a main hall equipped with 62 check-in desks (1-62), a separate security screening hall, as well as some shops, service counters and the arrivals facilities.[32] After the security screening hall, stairs lead to the departures lounge on the upper floor, where several more stores, restaurants and all 30 departure gates[33] in three side piers (1-19,20-28 and30-43) can be found.[32][34] Twoairport lounges are located within the terminal.[32]
The airport possesses a single runway, running roughly east to west (07/25),[35] with a length of 2,162 m (7,093 ft)[5] at an elevation of 526 ft (160 m). The runway is equipped with anInstrument Landing System (ILS) rated to Category IIIB, allowing the airport to continue operating in conditions of poor visibility.[36][37]
All the airport facilities lie to the north of the runway. The terminal and aprons have an unconventional layout for a commercial airport, with terminal drop-off, bus stands, taxi ranks and short-term car parks being accessed facing south towards the runway, being connected by a road. This road tunnels under a taxiway which connects the western apron area to the runway's taxiway network. There are approximately 60 stands available for aircraft, with 28 dedicated gates, which are all hardstands. All of these stands are located on the northern side of the terminal building, away from the runway and connected to it by a U-shaped set of taxiways and aprons that together encircle the terminal; recently, an accident caused by a vehicle fire in the Terminal 1 Car Park has left the car park destroyed.[11][12]
The northern side of the U-shaped apron is ringed by a continuous line ofhangars and other buildings, emphasising the fact that Luton is a major maintenance base for several airlines includingTUI Airways,EasyJet, and previouslyMonarch Airlines. By contrast to the heavily built up apron area, the airport's southern boundary is entirely rural with only a few isolated farm buildings and houses close to the airport boundary.[11][12]
In February 2019, London Luton Airport Limited announced plans to expand the airport by building a second terminal. The expansion would increase airport capacity to handle 32 million passengers per year 2039. The enlarged airport would continue to operate using the existing single runway.[38] LLAL have outlined several options for the site of the new Terminal 2. Most of the proposals involve a development that will encroach upon Wigmore Valley Park, a designatedCounty Wildlife Site;[39] an alternative site to the east would encroach upon theLondon Green Belt, and a further option proposes siting a new terminal to the south of the runway.[40]
A public consultation in October 2019 included plans for a third stop on theLuton DART transit, which has been completed in 2023, transporting passengers fromLuton Airport Parkway station to the concourse of the airport.[41][42]
EasyJet's head office is Hangar 89 (H89), a building located on the grounds of London Luton Airport; the hangar, a formerBritannia Airways/TUI facility, is located 150 metres (490 ft) from the former site of EasyLand, the previous headquarters of EasyJet. Hangar 89, built in 1974, has 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) of office space and can house two aircraft the size of anAirbus A320 orBoeing 737 at one time. When EasyJet received H89, it had a 1970s style office setup. EasyJet modernised the building and painted it orange.[43]
In addition,TUI Airways head office is at the airport, and previouslyMonarch Airlines, along with that of Monarch Group, was in Prospect House, on the grounds of the airport.[44][45]
The airport lies a few miles away from theM1 motorway, which runs southwards to theM25 motorway and London, and northwards toMilton Keynes, theMidlands and thenorth of England. The airport is linked to M1's Junction 10 by the dual-carriageway A1081 road. There is a short stay car park adjacent to the terminal, together with medium and long term on airport car parks to the west and east of the terminal respectively and linked to the terminal by shuttle buses. Pre-booked off airport parking is also available from several independent operators.
In 2016, Luton Airport commissioned a study, with the support of theCBI,easyJet, theFederation of Small Businesses, and the Bedfordshire and the HertfordshireChambers of Commerce (among others) which sought to explore opportunities to expand rail services to and from the airport. The study found four fast trains per hour from central London was possible.[120]
Negotiations are underway with theDepartment for Transport to extend the validity of theOyster card contactless ticketing system to the airport.[121] Contactless bank cards (but not Oyster cards) became valid for journeys to and from London from October 2019.[122]
Alight rail/automated guided people mover,Luton DART, provides a connection between the airport terminal and the railway station. The transit was officially opened byKing Charles III in December 2022.[123] It opened to passengers on 10 March 2023 operating a limited service for four hours per day, with the 24-hour service coming into effect around the end of the month. Shortly after, the DART transit replaced the shuttle bus service.[124]
The single fare for the DART is £4.90. Rail tickets marked "Luton Airport" include the price of the DART transit.[125] Concessions are given to Luton residents, and free travel is provided for holders ofconcessionary travel passes and disabledblue badge holders, and for airport workers.[126]
Conventional bus services also operate, connecting the airport with towns and cities in the region and parts of north London, including the 100, operated by Arriva, which offers an hourly daytime connection to the nearby towns ofHitchin andStevenage;Metroline service 84A;Courtney Buses coach service toBracknell.[128]
Direct coach services to London includeGreen Line route 757 operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and the A1 operated byNational Express which operate competing services to and fromVictoria Coach Station.EasyBus services operate towardsLiverpool Street station. A range of longer distance National Express services link the airport with Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick Airports as well as destinations in theMidlands and North of England.[128]
There are also three services around the airport operated byAPCOA Parking which operate 24 hours a day serving the terminal, mid stay, long stay, and staff car parks. The service that serves the staff car park also serves the car hire centre and rental companies and all stops in between including theHoliday Inn Express, the TUI Airways HQ And the ID Unit.[clarification needed] A new fleet of sixMercedes-Benz Citaro buses were purchased for these operations during 2014.
A range of other bus services operated by off-site parking companies also serve the airport. These include Airparks, Paige Airport Parking,Centrebus and Coach Hire 4 U. The latter two operators provide staff shuttle buses on behalf of TUI and EasyJet.
A formerairport shuttle bus linking the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station has been replaced by the Luton DART rail transit, which came into service in March 2023.[124]
Luton Airport appeared in twofly-on-the-wall television documentaries,Airline (1998) andLuton Airport (2005).Airline followed the staff ofEasyJet at Luton and the airline's other bases across the country whilst the 2005 series followed the life of employees in a similar format to the showAirport, set inHeathrow Airport.[10]
The airport was mentioned in a 1977television advert forCampari featuringLorraine Chase, with the punch line "Were you truly wafted here from paradise?" — "Nah, Luton Airport". This advert was the inspiration for the 1979 UK hit song "Luton Airport" byCats UK.[10][129]
The first episode of the second series of theBBC sitcomOne Foot in the Grave is entitledIn Luton Airport No-One Can Hear You Scream.[130]
Luton Airport was mentioned in thePiranha Brothers sketch fromMonty Python's Flying Circus, as being the place where one of the brothers, Dinsdale, thinks that a giant hedgehog named Spiny Norman sleeps.[131]
In 2011, the airport featured in an episode of the seriesSupersize Grime which focused on the cleaning of anAirbus A321 at the Monarch Aircraft Engineering hangar 127.[132]
In 2022, YouTuberMax Fosh put up a giant text sign nearGatwick Airport saying "WELCOME TO LUTON" as a prank, causing passengers to believe that they had landed at Luton Airport instead.[133]
4 November 1949: AHawker Tempest single-engined piston fighter being operated by Napier Aircraft on a test flight crashed at the airport, killing the test pilot.[134]
23 December 1967: AHawker Siddeley HS 125 (registration: G-AVGW) ofCourt Line crashed shortly after taking off from Luton Airport, killing both pilots. The aircraft had been on a training flight. The crash occurred when the crew simulated an engine failure on takeoff. The HS 125 lost height rapidly and hit the roof of a nearby factory. This resulted in a post-crash fire.[135]
3 March 1974: ADouglas DC-7C/F (registration: EI-AWG) operating anAer Turas Teo charter flight from Dublin landed on runway 08 just after midnight but failed to achievereverse thrust. Normal braking application also appeared to the crew to be ineffective and the emergency pneumatic brakes were applied. All main wheel tyres burst. The aircraft overran the runway and continued over the steep bank at the eastern perimeter finally coming to rest in soft ground 90 m (300 ft) beyond. The situation had also been made worse by an inadvertent application of forward thrust by the crew in trying to achieve reverse thrust. Three of the six passengers and two of the four crew were injured. The aircraft was badly damaged and deemed a write-off.[136][137]
18 April 1974: ABAC One-Eleven 518FG (registration: G-AXMJ) operatingCourt Line Flight 95 was involved in a ground collision withPiper PA-23 Aztec (registration: G-AYDE) after the Aztec entered the active runway without clearance. The pilot of the Aztec was killed and his passenger was injured. All 91 people on board the One-Eleven successfully evacuated after take-off was aborted.
21 June 1974: ABoeing 727-46 (registration: G-BAEF) operating aDan-Air charter flight to Corfu hit thelocaliser antenna while taking off, thereby rendering the runway's ILS inoperative. After being told by Luton air traffic control about the incident, the crew flying the aircraft elected to divert toLondon Gatwick where it landed safely without harming its 134 occupants (eight crew members and 126 passengers).[138] The subsequent investigation revealed that the aircraft only just became airborne at the end of the runway, and as the ground fell away to theLea valley below, the aircraft actually followed a downsloping course until finally gaining positive climb. The report concluded that there had been a cumulative effect of three factors – erosion of take-off run available; delay in startingrotation; and a very slow rate of rotation – as a result of the flightdeck crew's miscalculation of the aircraft'stakeoff weight (too high), a wrongpressure ratio for two of the aircraft's three engines (too low) and a sub-optimal choice of runway based on the use of outdatedwind information that omitted the latest update'stailwind component.[137][139]
29 March 1981: ALockheed JetStar 1329 (registration: N267L) operating an inbound flight from Nigeria overran runway 08 and came to rest down the embankment beyond the eastern perimeter fence. The accident was caused because the pilot landed well past the touchdown zone in poor visibility at night. At the time runway 08 did not have an ILS. The co-pilot suffered severe spinal injuries but the commanding pilot and seven passengers escaped with only minor injuries.[140]
15 January 1994: ABell 206B JetRanger helicopter (registration: G-BODW) rolled over on takeoff. One of the rotor blades sliced into the cabin, killing the pilot. The aircraft was badly damaged and deemed a write-off.[141]
18 July 2022: During the2022 United Kingdom heat wave, and with air temperatures close to 40 °C (104 °F) the runway melted and flights were forced to be diverted to Stansted, Bristol and other nearby airports. This led to severe delays for flights to and from the airport. The issue was rectified on the same day with flights resuming by the evening.[142]
10 October 2023: At around 21:00, a large fire broke out in terminal car park 2, causing the partial collapse of the car park building. According toBedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, it was caused accidentally, by a diesel car fire that spread to other vehicles.[143] Four firefighters and a member of airport staff were taken to hospital by the ambulance service.[144] As a result of the fire, the airport suspended all flights until 15:00 the following day.[145] It was reported that up to 1,500 cars in the car park were unsalvageable.[146]
^"Home". Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved7 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) London Luton Airport Limited
^"Luton Airport Expansion Project"(PDF). London Luton Airport Limited (LLAL). February 2019. pp. 16–19.Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved19 October 2019.
^"Write to Us". Monarch Airlines. 5 March 2013. Archived fromthe original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved2 October 2017.Monarch Airlines Prospect House Prospect Way London Luton Airport Luton Bedfordshire LU2 9NU ENGLAND
^"Head and Divisional Offices". Monarch Group. 8 March 2013. Archived fromthe original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved2 October 2017.The Monarch Group and Monarch Airlines Prospect House Prospect Way London Luton Airport Luton Bedfordshire LU2 9NU UK
^"Airport Data 2018". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 21 March 2023. Tables 12.1(XLS) and 12.2 (XLS).Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved25 March 2023.
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