|
Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is 35.1mi north of Central London and is located 1.7mi from the town centre of Luton in Bedfordshire. It was previously known as London International Airport. It is 2mi from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway. Luton Airport is the fourth largest airport servicing London, after Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It is the fifth busiest in the UK. The total number of passengers at Luton Airport increased in 2008, the first time over 10 million passengers were handled in a single year. The airport occupies a hill-top location, with a drop off about 40m at the western end of the runway.
Luton Airport has a single runway which runs east to west. It is 7,087 ft long and is equipped with an instrument landing System rated category IIIB which allows the airport to continue to operate during conditions of poor visibility. The airport facilities are located to the north of the runway. The terminal and aprons have ground side access to the terminal via a road, to a bus station, drop off area, taxi rank and short stay car park on the runway side of the terminal building. This road goes under the taxiway. Most of the aircraft 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 which together encircle the terminal.
Tthe northern side of the 'U' shaped apron is ringed by a continuos line of hangars and other buildings. By contrast, the southern boundary is entirely rural with only a few isolated farm buildings and houses close the the airport boundary.
London Luton Airport has a CAA public use Aerodrome licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
Luton Airport serves as a base for easyjet, Monarch Airlines, Thomson Airways and Ryanair. Although there are some charter airline routes to intercontinental destinations, most of the routes served are within Europe.
HISTORY:
Early history:
In 1938 an airport was opened on the site that is Luton Airport today. It was used as a base for Royal Air Force fighters during World war II. After the war the land was returned to the local council . They continued activity at the airport as a commercial operation, providing a base for charter airlines.
In 1949 English Electric set up a missile development site on the northern slope of the airport. When it closed in the 1960s it became the base for Carass Airways catering.
By 1972 Luton Airport had become the most profitable airport in the country. However, when Clarksons (a major package holiday operator) and its airline, Court Line went bankrupt, Luton Airport suffered a severe setback.
1980s and 1990s:
During the next 15 years Luton Airport saw a process of rebuilding which included the opening of a new international terminal in 1985. The airport was renamed London Luton Airport in 1990 with the aim to re emphasise the airport's connection to London, the UK capital. Luton Airport suffered another setback in 1991 when Ryanair transferred its base of operations to Stansted. In the late 1990s Mytravel Group began charter flights from Luton Airport with new low cost schedules flights from debonair and Easyjet.
In August 1997 the council issued a 30 year management contract to a public private partnership consortium to fund a £80 million extension of the airport. It was called London Luton Airport operations Limited, headed by Barclays Bank.
In 1998 the main feature of the developement phasewas a £40 million terminal made from aluminium and glass. It was opened in November 1999 and housed 60 check in desks, baggage and flight information systems and a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars.
Recent History:
Development work started in 2004 on a huge project to transfer departures from the International Terminal Building to the unused first floor of the 1999 Terminal Building. This was a 9,000 sq ft area with a spectacular vaulted ceiling, which was completed with the new terminal but intended to remain unused until required. The new departure hall opened on 1 July 2005 and features a new boarding pier and relocated security, customs and immigration facilities.
In January 2005 London Luton Airport Operations Limited was acquired by Airport Concessions Developement limited.
THE FUTURE:
In 2004 the airport management annonced that they supported plans to expand the facilities, which would include a full length runway and a new terminal. These plans were opposed by local campaign groups and as a result, in 2007 the owners of London Luton Airport announced that they were scrapping plans to build a second runway and a new terminal which they blamed on financial reasons.
|
