Yes - we have an airport! London Luton Airport (LTN) is the fifth busiest airport in Britain. In 2008 over 10 million passengers passed through the airport in a single year for the first time. The airport serves as a base for easyJet, Monarch Airlines, Thomson Airways, Ryanair and Wizz Air.
London Luton Airport employs over 500 people directly and around 8,000 indirectly. The Airport is now one of the major economic drivers of the regional economy.
In a pioneering public-private partnership deal signed in August 1998, London Luton Airport remains publicly owned by Luton Borough Council but is operated managed and developed by a private consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Ltd, for a period of 30 years.
London Luton Airport was officially opened on 16 July 1938 as "Luton Municipal Airport"and was owned by the Borough of Luton and, even in those early days, it was considered that Luton ought to be designated the northern terminal for London.
During the war years, the airport continued to operate as a commercial aerodrome as well as being the base for 264 Fighter Squadron. It was also an important manufacturing site at which the Percival Aircraft Company designed and built a series of aircraft for both civil and military use - including the famous Mosquito fighter bomber - "The Wooden Wonder", which was built under licence from the De Havilland Aircraft Company.
The Airport now offers passengers an extensive choice of both scheduled and charter services including frequent departures to over 90 destinations, including services to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
