London Luton Airport

London Luton Airport
IATA: LTN – ICAO: EGGW
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Luton Borough Council
Operator		London Luton Airport Operations Ltd
Serves		London
Location		Luton, Bedfordshire
Elevation AMSL		526 ft / 160 m
Website		www.london-luton.co.uk
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
08/26	2,160	7,087	Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft Movements			98,736
Passengers			9,120,546
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2] Luton Aiport Location of Luton Airport in England, UK

The terminal building

London Luton Airport (IATA: LTN, ICAO: EGGW) (previously called Luton International Airport)^[3] is an international airport located 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) east^[1] of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is 30.5 NM (56.5 km; 35.1 mi) north^[1] of Central London. The airport is 2 mi (3.2 km) from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway. It is the fourth largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, and is one of London's five international airports along with London City Airport.

In 2008 over 10 million passengers passed through the airport in a single year for the first time, however passenger numbers declined by 10.4% to 9,120,546 in 2009, making it the fifth busiest airport in the UK. The airport serves as a base for EasyJet, Monarch Airlines, Thomson Airways, Ryanair and Wizz Air.^[4] 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.

History

Early history

An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by the Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood.^[3] During the Second World War it was a base for Royal Air Force fighters. The topography of the Luton area, situated where the valley of the River Lea cuts its way through the north-east end of the Chiltern Hills, has influenced the location of the airport. The airport occupies a hill-top location, with a drop-off about 40 m (130 ft) at the western end of the runway^[5][6][7]

Following the war the land was returned to the local council who continued activity at the airport as a commercial operation, providing a base for charter airlines such as Autair (which went on to become Court Line), Euravia (now Thomson Airways, following previous growth as Britannia Airways) and Monarch Airlines. In 1949, English Electric set up a missile development site on the northern slope of the airport, which when closed in the 1960s became the base for Carass Airways Catering. In 1972, Luton Airport was the most profitable airport in the country. It suffered a severe setback in August 1974 when a major package holiday operator, Clarksons, and its in-house airline, Court Line (which also operated local bus services), went bankrupt.^[3]

1980s and 1990s

The next 15 years saw a process of rebuilding, including the opening of a new international terminal in 1985. In 1990, the airport was renamed London Luton Airport to re-emphasise the airport's connection to the UK capital. In 1991, another setback occurred when Ryanair, who had flown from the airport to Ireland for a number of years, transferred its base of operations to Stansted. Later in the 90s, MyTravel Group began charter flights from the airport, using the Airtours brand and new low-cost scheduled flights from Debonair and EasyJet, the latter making Luton its base.^[3]

In August 1997, to fund a £80 million extension of the airport, the council issued a 30 year management contract to a public private partnership consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Limited, which was headed by Barclays Bank. Barclays later sold to TBI plc.^[3]

The main feature of the development phase in 1998 was a £40 million terminal made from aluminium and glass, based on an original design by Foster and Partners. The new terminal, which was officially opened in November 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, houses 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems and a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars.^[3]

Recent history

In September 2004, development work started on a major project to transfer departures from the International Terminal Building built in 1985, to the previously unused first floor of the 1999 Terminal Building, a 9,000 sq ft (800 m²) area featuring a spectacular vaulted ceiling, which was completed with the new terminal, but intended to lie unused until required. The new departure hall opened on schedule on 1 July 2005 and features a new boarding pier extending 200 metres out between the airport's north & east Aprons and relocated security, customs and immigration facilities. This also expanded the number of boarding gates from the previous number of 19 to the current 26. In January 2005, London Luton Airport Operations Limited was acquired by Airport Concessions Development Limited, a company owned by Abertis Infraestructuras (90%) and Aena Internacional (10%), both Spanish companies. Abertis is a European infrastructure provider, whilst Aena Internacional is the international business arm of the Spanish national airport and air traffic control organisation.^[3]

All business-class airline Silverjet operated flights to Newark Liberty International and Dubai International Airport from a dedicated terminal between 2006 and 2008 however the airline has since ceased operations due to the global economic crisis.

Development plans and the future

In 2004 the airport management announced^[8] that they supported the government plans to expand the facilities to include a full-length runway and a new terminal.^[9]. However, local campaign groups, including Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN)^[10] and Stop Luton Airport Plan (SLAP)^[11] opposed the new expansion plans, for reasons including noise pollution and traffic concerns; LADACAN also claimed that various sites, including Someries Castle, a Scheduled Monument, would be threatened by the expansion. On 6 July 2007, it was announced that the owners of London Luton Airport decided to scrap plans to build a second runway and new terminal due to financial reasons.^[12]

In order for the airport to expand further, the Department for Transport advised the airport authority to more efficiently use the airport site. The Department for Transport backs the plans to extend the runway from its current 2,160m length to the full length of 3,000m. This will enable airlines to increase the size of aircraft that currently use the airport, as well as increasing taxiway length in order to maximise the runway capacity and reduce runway taxi.

The airport today

Interior of London Luton Airport.

The airport possesses a single runway, running roughly east to west, with a length of 2,160 m (7,087 ft)^[1] at an elevation of 526 ft (160 m). The runway is equipped with an Instrument Landing System rated to Category IIIB, allowing the airport to continue operating in conditions of poor visibility.^[13][14] All the airport facilities lie to the north of the runway. The terminal and aprons have a somewhat unusual layout, with ground-side access to the terminal being via a road (which goes under the taxiway) to a bus station, drop off area, taxi rank and short term car park on the runway side of the terminal building. There are approximately 60 stands available for aircraft. 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.^[5][6]

The northern side of the U-shaped apron is ringed by a continuous line of hangars and other buildings, emphasising the fact that Luton is a major maintenance base for several airlines including Thomson Airways, Monarch Airlines and EasyJet. 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.^[5][6]

The airport remains in municipal ownership, owned by Luton Borough Council but managed by the private sector London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL). London Luton Airport has a CAA 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.^[15] The airport has become even more critical to the future of Luton given the recent closure of the Vauxhall Motors factory.

Airlines and destinations

Cargo

Airport statistics

Number of Passengers[16] Number of Movements[17] Freight (tonnes)[18] 1997 3,238,458 63,586 21,354 1998 4,132,818 70,667 25,654 1999 5,284,810 79,423 23,224 2000 6,190,499 84,745 32,992 2001 6,555,155 83,707 23,070 2002 6,486,770 80,924 20,459 2003 6,797,175 85,302 22,850 2004 7,535,614 94,379 26,161 2005 9,147,776 107,892 23,108 2006 9,425,908 116,131 17,993 2007 9,927,321 120,238 38,095 2008 10,180,734 117,859 40,518 2009 9,120,546 98,736 28,643 Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority [19]

London Luton Airport in the media

London Luton Airport is widely known as a result of the Airline and Luton Airport television series. Airline follows the staff of EasyJet at Luton and the airline's other bases across the country whilst the 2005 series, named after the airport followed the life of employees at the airport in a similar format to the show Airport which follows staff at London Heathrow Airport.

The airport was also mentioned in a famous Campari advert featuring Lorraine Chase, with the punch line "Were you truly wafted here from paradise?". " Na Lut'n Airport". This advert was the inspiration for a 1979 UK hit by Cats U.K. entitled "Luton Airport". The airport was also mentioned in the Piranha Brothers sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, as being the place where one of the brothers, Dinsdale, thinks that a giant hedgehog named Spiny Norman sleeps.

Surface access

First Capital Connect train at Luton Airport Parkway

Road

The airport lies a few miles away from the M1 motorway, which runs southwards to London, northwards to Leeds and connects to the M25 motorway. 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.

Rail

Luton Airport Parkway railway station was built in 1999 to serve the airport. It is positioned on the Midland Main Line. First Capital Connect (FCC) is the principal operator, with services to Bedford, St Albans, London, Wimbledon, Sutton, Gatwick Airport and Brighton. East Midlands Trains semi-fast services call hourly going south to London St Pancras and north to Wellingborough, Kettering, Leicester and Nottingham.

Under the Thameslink Programme, capacity at the station is due to increase significantly. By 2012, the station operator First Capital Connect plans to run twelve car trains, rather than the current maximum of eight carriages.

A shuttle bus service connects the station to the airport, a distance of just over a mile. There is a charge for the service. To provide additional capacity, LLAOL have contracted the shuttle service to FCC (since 20 January 2008), whose parent company FirstGroup have invested £1.3 million in a fleet of four articulated buses labelled 'StreetCars'. The new buses are 18 metres long and can accommodate up to 115 passengers plus baggage.^[20]

Plans have been approved to replace the shuttle buses with a segregated tracked transit system.^[21] This has been met with large scale local opposition.

Buses

Local buses connect Luton Airport with Luton town centre and other nearby places. Direct bus services to London are operated by both Green Line Coaches and EasyBus (with service to Victoria Coach Station). National Express coaches link the airport to London Stansted Airport as well as destinations in the Midlands and north of England.^[22]

First Capital Connect FTR buses providing a link between the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station. This service runs every 10 minutes during the day and is branded as Train2Plane.

Gallery

A Monarch Airlines Airbus A320-200 shortly after landing	View across London Luton Airport. The Thomsonfly Boeing 737-300 (G-THOK) is just lifting off. The orange hangars belong to easyJet. Private jets are visible.	Thomsonfly Boeing 737-800 (G-FDZA) takes off from London Luton Airport, Bedfordshire, England	Whizz Air Airbus A320-200 (LZ-WZA) leaves the ground at London Luton Airport
DHL Airbus A300B4-200 (OO-DLZ) of European Air Transport takes off from London Luton Airport	A Bristol Britannia now kept on display at Duxford Aerodrome, this originally flew from and was based at Luton Airport during the late 1960's and early 1970's

Accidents and incidents

On 29 March 1981 a Lockheed JetStar (N267L) overran the runway at the airport. None of the 9 passengers and crew were killed or injured in the accident.[1]

On 21 June 1974 a Dan Air Boeing 727 (a Boeing 727-46, registration: G-BAEF) on a charter flight from Luton to Greece hit the localiser antenna while taking off at Luton Airport, thereby rendering the airport's Instrument Landing System inoperative. After being told by Luton air traffic control about the incident, the crew flying the aircraft elected to divert to London Gatwick where it landed safely without harming its 134 occupants (eight crew members and 126 passengers). [2]

On 23 December 1967 a Hawker Siddeley HS 125 (registration: G-AVGW) 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.[3]

See also

• Airline
• Luton Airport

References

External links

• Official website
• London Luton Airport Consultative Committee

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