London Luton Airport clears hurdles to expansion to 32mppa and contemplates increased inbound travel

Flying from Luton Airport, north of London and a designated airport serving the UK capital, one which had become the base of numerous charter airlines since the 1960s, became even more appealing after a 1970s TV advert suggested a working class girl could find her perfect upper class partner if she packed her bag and jetted off to any of its ever growing list of sun-seeker vacation destinations.

Then in the 1990s came the first of the low cost scheduled airlines, which opened up even greener pastures while facilitating cheap travel from across Europe to London, which has been connected to Luton Airport by rail since 1999.

The airport had its stall set out for it as the primary vacation departure point for much of southeast England and its 15 million people.

Infrastructure improvements have been made regularly but for several years the airport has been pushing for expansion from current capacity of 18mppa (which it will exceed this year) to 32mppa by the 2040s. That expansion has now 'cleared all legal hurdles'.

It has been a long drawn out battle, one that dates back to Feb-2019 when the first application was made and this clearance comes at an opportune moment as work recently commenced on a giant new theme park close by that will attract millions of domestic and international visitors annually thus giving the airport a new traffic and revenue stream to think about.

But could this be the last expansion? Local councils, residents' associations, and environmental groups have strongly opposed the expansion of the airport, less than two miles from the town centre, citing severe concerns over noise pollution, carbon emissions, and increased strain on local infrastructure. The airport puts the environment at the head of its own concerns as construction to the value of GBP2.4 billion is readied but the time may come when it has been extended as far as it can be.