EGGW
London Luton Airport
VFR
-
Name
London Luton Airport
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ICAO / IATA / GPS
EGGW / LTN / EGGW
- Type
- Restriction
- Region
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Timezone
11:23 am (GMT)
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Municipality
London
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Coordinates
51° 52′ 28″ N 0° 22′ 5″ W
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Elevation
527 ft (161 m MSL)
About London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport (IATA: LTN, ICAO: EGGW) is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated 1.7 miles (2.7 km) east of the town centre, and is the fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a company wholly owned by Luton Borough Council, and operated by London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL).
An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938. During the Second World War, the airport was used by fighters of the Royal Air Force. Commercial activity and general aviation flight training at Luton resumed during 1952. By the 1960s, Luton Airport was playing a key role in the development of the package holiday business; by 1969, a fifth of all holiday flights from the UK departed from Luton Airport. From the mid-1960s, executive aircraft have been based at the airport. During the late 1970s, an expansion plan was initiated at Luton to accommodate as many as 5 million passengers per year, although the airport experienced a reduction in passenger numbers in the 1980s. In 1990, the airport was renamed London Luton Airport to try and emphasise the airport's proximity to the capital.
The arrival of new operators at Luton during the 1990s, such as charter operator MyTravel Group and new low-cost scheduled flights from Debonair and EasyJet, contributed to a rapid increase in passenger numbers that made it the fastest growing major airport in the UK. In August 1997, to fund an £80 million extension of the airport, a 30-year concession contract was issued to a public-private partnership consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Limited.