Luton Airport History
The London Luton Airport is the fourth-largest airport servicing the London area in the UK. It is 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from Junction 10a to the M1 motorway, and is among London’s 6 biggest international airports along with London Southend Airport and London City.
The airport is base to Monarch, EasyJet, Ryanair, and Thomson Airways. In 2013, just a little under 9.7 million passengers made way through the airport, making London Luton the 6th busiest airport within the UK.
The routes served were mostly within Europe, though the airport also catered to some scheduled and charter routes to Asia and Northern Africa.
Luton Airport Background
On July 16 1938 Kingsley Wood, the Secretary of State for Air, opened an airport on the site and during World War II it became the base for Royal Air Force fighter jets.
The airport was situated where the River Lea Valley cuts through the north eastern end of the Chiltern Hills, and occupied a hill-top location with a drop-off of roughly 130 feet (40 meters) at the runway’s western end.
After the war, the land where Luton was was handed back to the local council, which then started commercial operations activity at the airport. Until the early 60s, the Percival Aircraft operated its factory at Luton. From the mid-60s, the McAlpine Aviation operated executive aircraft initially at the airport.
Its activities have grown since then and now several executive jet operators as well as maintenance companies are already based at the airport accommodating aircrafts from across the world.
London Luton served as the operating base for several charter airlines including Dan-Air, Euravia (which have now went on to becoming Thomson Airways, Autair (now Court Line), and Monarch.
Luton Airport became the most profitable airport in the UK in year 1972 although it suffered severe setbacks in the August of 1974 when its in-house Court airline Line (which operated local buses too) and main package holidays operator Clarksons were liquidated.
London Luton Airport Parking & Hotels
In the 80s the Luton airport saw a decline in their number of passengers—a fact due to the lack of reinvestment. The council’s response was to revamp lobbying and to re-focus on the airport’s development, by first, running the airport independently through a distinct management team. Necessary infrastructure work then ensued as a result.
The next fifteen years saw progress in updates, which includes having a new international terminal, new cargo center, new control tower (complete with updated air traffic control system), runway upgrades, and automated baggage handling facilities .
Along with the development of basic infrastructure, several business partners were also encouraged and new business models deliberated. The entire process envisioned an airport railway station, a people-station-to-airport terminal mover (thus the unused underpass alongside the road when approaching the terminal), and a cargo centre.
In 1990, to re-emphasize the airport’s close proximity to the capital of UK, the airport was finally renamed to London Luton Airport. Another setback occurred in 1991 when Ryanair, which for a number of years had flown from the Luton airport to Ireland, had transferred its operating base in London to Stansted.
But in the late 90s, using the brand Airtours and their all new cut-rate scheduled flights from EasyJet and Debonair, MyTravel Group started charter flights from Luton airport, thus making London Luton its main base.
The council issued a concession contract spanning 30 years to London Luton Airport Operations Limited, a publicized private partnership consortium, in order to fund a £80 million airport extension in August 1997.
This was a partnership project of Barclays Private Equity and Airport Group International (AGI). AGI was a development company that Lockheed Martin Corp once owned and a premier specialist airport management entity. In 1999, AGI shares was sold to TBI plc, and in 2001 Barclay’s Luton shares were also sold to TBI plc.
In 1998, the development phase’s main feature was a £40 million worth of new terminal made from glass and aluminium, which was based on Foster and Partners’ original design.
The terminal houses baggage as well as flight information systems, a total of 60 check-in desks, plus a wide range of bars, shops, and restaurants. It was opened officially by Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II in November 1999.
To the north of the runway lies all the airport’s facilities. The aprons and terminal has a rather unconventional layout, being its ground-side access into the terminal is through a road (going under the taxiway) to a bus stop, drop off area, short-term car park and taxi rank on the terminal building’s runway side.
Approximately 60 stands are available for aircraft and all these stands can be located on the terminal building’s northern side, distant from the runway but connected to it via a U-shaped suite of aprons and taxiways encircling the terminal all together.
The U-shaped apron’s north side is ringed by hangars and other buildings in a continuous line, which emphasizes how Luton is a major base for maintenance for several airlines that include Monarch, EasyJet, and Thomson Airways.
Contrasting the heavily built-up apron area is the southern boundary of the airport which is wholly rural with just a few isolated farm houses/buildings close to the airport’s boundary.
The airport contains just one runway with a 7,087 ft (2,160 m) length at a 160 m (526 ft) elevation, and roughly running east to west. The runway is outfitted with Category IIIB rated Instrument Landing System (ILS), which allows the airport to continue operations even in conditions of poor visibility.
The airport remains owned by Luton Borough Council in municipal ownership, but it is managed by the London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL) private sector. London Luton Airport has a (Number P835) Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome licensing, allowing flights for flying instruction or for the passengers’ public transport.
An importance indicator of the airport to the Luton economy is that Luton has been reported to have gained the highest number of taxi cabs per head of the populace in the UK because of the airport.
London Luton Airport Parking
A short-term car park is adjacent to the terminal, along with medium-term and long-term airport car parks to the western and eastern sides of the terminal respectively (also linked to the terminal via shuttle buses).
There are also available pre-booked off-airport parking provided by several independent operators.
The London Luton Airport lies a few miles distance away from the M1 motorway, running southbound to London, northbound to Leeds, and in connection to the M25 motorway.