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A brief history of London Luton Airport
- By Blog Admin
- Published 02/16/2012
Just 32 miles away from the capital, London Luton is the UK's fifth busiest international airport, serving some nine million passengers each year, 87 per cent of whom, according to statistics, are travelling abroad.
Used by those who fly with low cost airlines (easyJet being one), the most popular routes are Budapest, Warsaw, Dublin and Geneva.
The airport has a long and
illustrious history. Made famous recently as the backdrop for television
reality show, 'Airline' and in the 70s due
Opened to the public way back in 1938 as "Luton Municipal Airport", it operated commercially during World War II, while also serving as a base for 264 Fighter Squadron. Many aircraft were built at the airport, including "The Wooden Wonder" Mosquito fighter bomber.
Further investment in civil aviation saw the construction of a new control tower in the 1950s and the 1960s saw London Luton play a big part in the emerging package holiday concept, creating a charter airline called Euravia (changed to Britannia Airways, then Thomson Airways).
According to the airport's own information, by the last 60s, the airport was already considered one of the biggest in the country and by 1972, was "Britain's most profitable". The Eighties saw a new terminal building and the start of scheduled flights from Luton.
Through new management, ownership and names in the 1990s, much investment was made into the airport, runways and it's surrounding road network. By the end of the decade, where the airport was firmly entrenched in the low-cost flight industry, Luton was the fastest growing airport in the UK.
Since the turn of the century, the airport has seen and responded to growing passenger demands, opening a new passenger terminal in 2005 at a cost of £35 million.
As for the future, the airport hopes to expand through modifying one of its existing sites. If given the go ahead, this would increase London Luton's capacity by a further seven million passengers per year. The airport hopes this could be achieved by making improvements to existing facilities, not having to extend outside current airport boundaries, which should meet with approval.
So, the expansion would contribute towards the alleviating the aviation industry's concerns over reaching capacity limitations in the south of England. Plus it would bring more people into the country, contributing to the British economy, all very positive stuff.
It would seem the future is very bright for London Luton.
