London Luton Airport releases Master Plan, plans for increase in pax to 15-16 million in 10 years

UK's London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL), the operator of London Luton Airport, the fifth largest airport in the UK and the fastest growing London airport in 2011, announced (14-Mar-2012) its Master Plan for the future. The plans include:

• The phased development of London Luton over the next 15 years to "facilitate growth in passenger numbers and airline demand that will avoid overbuilding capacity, and passing on unnecessary costs to airlines and passengers";
• Growing the number of passengers from nearly 10 million to 15-16 million p/a over the next 10 years;
• Turning Luton into "London's Local Airport" through continual improvement of transport links with the capital, and caring for the local environment and community;

The three main components of our proposed initial development phase would include:

• Improvements to the terminal building through the construction of a new pier, and a new layout which can be achieved through minor extension works that won't disrupt the running of the airport;
• Extending the taxiway to increase the number of aircraft movements, creating new aircraft stands, and upgrading existing ones;
• Constructing two new traffic lanes to the south of "Airport Way", leading into a newly created set down system in the Central Terminal Area, which will ease congestion and manage growth in the future.

Following public discussion by the Council they may terminate the company's concession before its expiry in 2028, LLAOL reiterates that as the operator of London Luton it has trebled the number of passengers using the airport from 3.4 million passengers in 1998 to 10 million at present. It added if the Council does terminate the concession, "it will be required to make a significant termination payment to us reflecting the value of the remaining years of the Concession and certain other liabilities. This will run into the hundreds of millions of pounds and risks delaying or even preventing development and the benefits it can bring for the foreseeable future". [more - original PR]