Luton Airport's February passenger numbers up 19%
Over one million travellers passed through the airport, marking thirty-five consecutive months of double-digit passenger growth.
To meet this continued demand, LLA is making the largest single investment in the airport’s history to upgrade the airport’s facilities and improve the passenger experience. Construction is well underway and the redevelopment will increase capacity by 50% to 18 million by 2020.
In addition to the work taking place on the terminal, plans have also been submitted by the airport owner for a new £200 million light rail link between Luton Airport Parkway station and the airport terminal.LLA’s route network is also growing with four new routes launching in March: Ryanair will commence flights to Dusseldorf Weeze; easyJet will launch routes to Stockholm and the Isle of Man; and Blue Air will begin flights to the Romanian city of Cluj.
As the fastest growing airport for international passengers in England, LLA remains the only London airport without a direct “express”-style rail service. To change this, the airport is calling for the introduction of four fast trains per hour from central London as part of the upcoming East Midlands rail refranchising process.
Nick Barton, CEO of LLA, said: “February has been another record-breaking month for LLA. We have taken huge strides to improve the passenger experience and our growing popularity reflects the progress we have made.
“An important part of the redevelopment is upgrading our transport links. Last month the airport owners submitted plans for a new light rail link which will replace the current shuttle bus and make passengers’ journeys smoother and quicker. The last piece in the jigsaw will be improving rail links with central London – adding four fast trains per hour to the new franchise agreement will allow us to do just that.”
