1 day Ago By John Pullen
London is a very important city for aviation. While London Heathrow Airport is known for being a global hub and aviation powerhouse, the airport is just one of several aviation gateways for the city. Other airports, like London Stansted and London Gatwick, also play a major role in connecting intra-European and long-haul traffic to London.
London Luton Airport is another, less popular gateway to the city. Though the airport is not nearly as busy as Heathrow, it has just won approval for a major expansion project that will bring more economic growth to the facility and the surrounding area. Despite some push back from stakeholders, the expansion is slated to begin soon.
Luton Airport expands Luton Airport just recently got approval from the government for its expansion, according to the Financial Times . The government's approval comes despite inspections that recommended against the airport's expansion, citing environmental impact concerns. Despite the hesitation, the government will allow Luton to double its capacity in terms of how many flights it can handle.
While the expansion does not include a new runway, Luton Airport will get a new terminal. Additionally, the airport will get more important infrastructure, including new aircraft taxiways and more space for parking aircraft. When the updates are complete, Luton's annual passenger handling capabilities will rise from 19 million passengers to an impressive 32 million passengers, according to London Luton Airport .
Despite the potential positive economic impacts, some groups are against Luton Airport's now-approved expansion plans. The Planning Inspectorate recommended the expansion plan be rejected by the government, citing concerns for the surrounding neighborhood of Chiltern Hills. Currently, aircraft fly over the area every 30 minutes, but over time, this number could lower to every 15 minutes.
This runs the risk of disrupting the quiet of the area. The United Kingdom's government has put its support behind a lot of airport investment projects recently. This includes initiatives to create a third runway at London Heathrow Airport, and a second at Gatwick Airport.
While these plans have not been solidified like Luton's expansion, it indicates the government's recent enthusiasm for airport expansion. According to Bloomberg & the World Economic Forum, UK Labour's chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to approve expansion plans for many of London's airports, in a move to boost economic growth. These airports include Luton, Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow, with the plans being that Gatwick will have a fully functional second runway and Heathrow would add a new third runway.
This is something that has been discussed for at least four years, and was last reported by Simple Flying in September of last year.But it's the Heathrow decision that's been controversial. Within Labour, there's significant splits over the decision, with energy/net-zero Secretary Ed Miliband and Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan both voicing their opposition to the plans, and other internal MPs criticizing the move, raising concerns about growth, climate and pollution.
Reeves said that economic growth triumphs net-zero any day. Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay countered that it would not meet the UK's climate obligatio Luton's expansion could fuel economic growth Luton Airport's expansion is good news for the low-cost carriers that serve the airport. easyJet is based in Luton, making the airport one of its most important bases.
The airline, which exclusively operates Airbus A320 family jets, will have more room to expand its budget-friendly flights to destinations throughout Europe. Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air also serves the airport, operating flights to a variety of destinations. Additionally, Ryanair , Europe's largest airline, also serves the airport with a variety of leisure-oriented routes.
All of these airlines will be able to expand their flight schedules from Luton once the airport boosts its capacity. Given that European low-cost carriers don't offer connecting flights , all new services will probably cater to local demand. The economic benefits of Luton's expansion go beyond increased airline service.
London Luton Airport reports it could also bring up to 11,000 jobs over time, boosting the economic well-being of the surrounding community as well as the airport. In addition, the expansion is expected to bring an additional 1.5 billion Euros to the economy each year.
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