easyJet agrees 10 year deal with Luton Airport which will enable it to double its size at the London

easyJet, the UK's largest airline, has agreed a new 10 year deal with London Luton Airport which could see the airline more than double its size at the airport from four to nine million passengers a year. The expansion would also see the creation of 2,500 new jobs at the airport - the UK's sixth largest - and in the surrounding region.

easyJet has 15 aircraft based at London Luton, its second largest London base, and plans to grow its capacity by around 20% over the next year - adding new business and leisure routes and increasing frequencies on some of its existing 39 routes from London Luton.

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of easyJet, said:

"This is a substantial, long term deal with London Luton Airport - our first base and the airline's home - which will enable us to double our size at London Luton in the next decade and add an even greater range of business and leisure destinations. We are looking forward to working with the airport, and the new concession owners Ardian and AENA. Their financial investment and long term commitment to developing London Luton were a key factor in our agreeing to this new deal and will help us deliver our plans.

"The speed of easyJet's expansion at London Luton is in part reliant on the airport's plans for much-needed improvements being approved. Those improvements will unlock the airport's potential by improving the customer experience of the airport while also increasing the numbers of passengers flying to and from London Luton. This will in turn drive economic growth and jobs for the region.

"London Luton can make a real and immediate contribution to the need for more airport capacity in the South East. It currently serves almost 10 million passengers a year and if the expansion plans are given the go-ahead would be able to grow to 18 million in the coming years - using the existing runway but with huge improvements to the rest of the airport's infrastructure.

"This demonstrates that our industry can make the best use of existing capacity in the South East of England before any new runway is built."

Glyn Jones, Managing Director of London Luton Airport, said:

"easyJet is our largest airline partner, accounting for 45% of all passengers using the airport. We see this as a real vote of confidence in London Luton Airport and its future as we work to become bigger and to deliver a better airport experience for our passengers in the years to come.

"The creation of new jobs, the opening up of new routes, and the increased frequency of flights to popular destinations is great news for the entire local region. London Luton Airport is of central importance to thousands of people across the Three Counties and London. We are delighted that this exciting new deal with easyJet will mean more choice for our passengers and greater access to new and existing markets for our local businesses."

easyJet is the largest airline operating from London Luton with 15 Airbus aircraft based at the airport, 1,600 staff employed locally and 39 destinations served.

easyJet first launched flights from London Luton Airport with one aircraft in 1995 and the airport remains the home of the airline with its headquarters based there.

London Luton Airport is one of the UK's largest airports and carried 9.7 million passengers in 2013, departing to over 100 destinations. The Airport directly and indirectly employs over 600 and 8,000 staff respectively and is a key economic driver for the region.