LUTON AIRPORT GUIDE (LTN)

QUICK FACTS Name: Luton Airport IATA Code: LTN ICAO Code: EGGW Opened: 1938 Terminals: 1 Runways: 1 Destinations served:80+ Passengers: 9.5m (2009)

HISTORY

With Kingsley Wood, Secretary of State for Air, holding the proverbial golden scissors, this flight hub first opened its Luton Airport parking bays to passengers in July of 1938 as the Luton Municipal Airport. Despite opening just before the outbreak of the Second World War, the airport and Luton Airport parking continued to provide its services throughout even the darkest of the war years. In addition to its commercial activity, Luton Airport was also used for military purposes during this period. Its hangar bays provided shelter for the RAF 264-Fighter Squadron and the designs and manufacture for the infamous Mosquito Fighter Bomber, which played a significant role in the course and outcome of World War II, were drafted and executed at the Luton airport.
 
Decades after the conclusion of the Second World War and well into the 1970s, Luton Airport enjoyed a reputation for being one of the most successful and profitable flight hubs in the United Kingdom. This success was overshadowed in August of 1974, when one of the airport’s major shareholders and in-house airlines suddenly declared bankruptcy. Yet, in spite of this setback, Luton Airport made a full recovery over the course of the next fifteen years, when extensive renovations saw the complete transformation of the flight hub and Luton Airport parking facilities in 1985. 1990 saw the renaming of the formerly known Luton Municipal Airport to the London Luton Airport; a name better suited to its economic and commercial importance as well as its multi-decadal long history.
 
Despite the major developments made since the Luton Airport’s conception, 1998 was only the beginning of further renovations and improvements. New construction projects saw the building of a massive £40 million terminal building entirely out of aluminium steel and glass.  This stunning architectural feat was then officially opened to the public by Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth II the following year, November of 1999.

The new terminal building and Luton Airport parking facilities, which still service millions of passengers every year, is home to 60 check-in counters, an incredible number and diversity of retail outlets, restaurants, bars and coffee shops as well as extensive banking, postal, currency exchange, office, business, leisure and other essential facilities.
 
The immediate future holds plans for the London Luton Airport to expand its currently 2,160 meter long runway to a full 3,000 meters in order to accommodate more air traffic and heavier aircraft.