London Luton Airport (LTN)

Introduction

London Luton Airport is the UK’s 7th busiest airport. Over 9 million passengers are handled by London Luton Airport every year. Located just outside the town of Luton, in Bedfordshire, about 35 miles north of London, London Luton Airport is London’s 4th busiest airport.

Facilities and Services

London Luton Airport can offer its passengers flights to 85 scheduled destinations including domestic; European and African services.
London Luton Airport has one terminal that provides passengers with a departure lounge containing a fair range of retail and catering outlets. London Luton Airport also has currency exchange facilities, car hire representatives and information desks to meet arriving passengers needs.
London Luton Airport has an executive lounge located in the departure lounge. Passengers can enjoy business facilities such as fax; e-mail; and Internet access as well as complimentary drinks and snacks in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere.

Getting To The Airport

London Luton Airport is easily accessible because of its close location to the M1. From the East, take the A505 from Hitchin. The airport lies just off the A505 and is clearly signposted. From the M1 exit at junction 10/10a and take the A1081 and then A505. The airport is only 2 miles away from junction 10/10a of the M1.
For those wishing to travel by train, the nearest station to London Luton Airport is Luton Airport Parkway Station. There are regular services to and from London’s King’s Cross that take approximately 25 minutes. A shuttle bus service operates to and from Luton Airport Parkway Station and London Luton Airport and takes 5 minutes.
For those travelling by bus or coach, London Luton Airport has excellent connections with key towns and cities across the country. The bus pick-up and drop-off bays are located in front of the terminal building.

Parking at the Airport

The short stay car park is situated just minutes from the terminal and is recommended for picking up passengers. The Mid Stay Car Park is ideally suited for a stay of up to 5 days although longer stays are welcome. The car park is just a five minute transfer by bus to the terminal which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For stays of 5 days or more, the Long Stay car park is situated just 10 minutes from the terminal via the 24/7 bus transfer service. In order to make a booking to secure a space at any of these pre-bookable car parks at London Luton Airport via carparkinguk.co.uk.

History of London Luton Airport

Luton Airport was originally opened as ‘Luton Municipal Airport' on 16th July 1938. At that time it was owned by the Borough of Luton and was considered to be the northern terminal for London.

After the war the civil use of the airport grew and 1952 saw the opening of a new control tower.

The 1960’s saw the development of the package holiday and its immediate popularity as it provided affordable foreign travel for the first time. Luton Airport was instrumental in the development of the package holiday business in the UK.

The formation of Euravia in 1962, now Thomsonfly, one of the largest charter airlines, was key to this development and is still based at the airport. In 1968 another charter operation, Monarch Airlines was formed and they too are based at Luton, continuing to expand both charter and scheduled passenger operations over the last forty years.