London Luton Airport (LLA) achieved another record month in October 2017, when it welcomed more than 1.4 million passengers – an increase of 3% over last year and the airport’s 43rd consecutive month of growth.
As the airport continues to add more passengers, it is expanding its route network to cater to business and leisure travel. So far in 2017, 22 new routes have been added, with the airport now offering more than 130 destinations across Europe, Asia and Africa.
The latest additions include eight new destinations from Thomas Cook next summer, flying to Palma, Spain; Dalaman, Turkey; and Corfu, Greece. Sun Express has increased its number of destinations from one to four, including routes to Antalya and Ankara, Turkey. El Al will also be running an additional flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, every Sunday throughout the winter, until March 2018.
To meet continued demand from passengers, LLA is currently investing more than £150m (US$196m) in an ambitious redevelopment project which will increase annual capacity by 50% to 18 million passengers by 2020.
Construction is well underway and is already delivering an improved experience for passengers once they are in the airport, including an enlarged security hall and a variety of shops and restaurants in the terminal including The Smithfield, Benugo, Friska and Bella Italia.
Nick Barton, CEO of LLA, said, “It is an exciting time for the airport. We continue to welcome more travelers, introduce new routes and improve the experience we give passengers as they pass through the airport. We are very pleased that our airlines are expanding their offering and we are looking forward to welcoming more passengers whether they are traveling for business or pleasure.”