Sitting 1.7 miles east of Luton town centre in Bedfordshire, London Luton Airport (IATA: LTN, ICAO: EGGW) is an international airport and the fourth-busiest serving the London area. Owned outright by Luton Borough Council through London Luton Airport Limited, and operated by London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL), the airport ranks alongside Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, and Southend as one of six international airports serving the capital.
From Municipal Airfield to Major Hub
The airport first opened on 16 July 1938, inaugurated by the Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood, as Luton Municipal Airport. During the Second World War, the Royal Air Force used the site for fighter operations. Commercial flights and general aviation training returned in 1952, and by the 1960s the airport had become closely tied to the growth of the package holiday industry. By 1969, one in five of all holiday flights departing the UK left from Luton. Executive aircraft have been based at the airport since the mid-1960s. An expansion plan launched in the late 1970s aimed to handle up to five million passengers annually, though passenger numbers fell back during the 1980s. In 1990, the airport was officially renamed London Luton Airport to reflect its connection to the capital.
Investment, Growth, and Modern Operations
The 1990s brought considerable change. Charter operator MyTravel Group arrived alongside low-cost scheduled services from Debonair and EasyJet, pushing London Luton Airport to become the fastest growing major airport in the UK during that period. In August 1997, a 30-year public-private concession contract worth £80 million was awarded to fund an extension of the airport. Throughout the decade, a further £30 million was invested in infrastructure. In November 1999, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, opened a new £40 million terminal housing 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems, and a range of commercial outlets. Departure and arrival facilities were further redeveloped between 2004 and 2005 at a cost of £38 million. By 2018, over 16.5 million passengers used the airport in a single year, a record figure and enough to rank it fifth busiest in the UK at the time. Today, easyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz Air all base operations at Luton. The airport previously hosted Monarch Airlines, which ceased operations in October 2017, and TUI Airways, which moved its Luton-based aircraft to Gatwick in 2026. Most routes operate within Europe, with some charter and scheduled services reaching Northern Africa and Asia.