Here at Luton Airport Car Parking we aim to bring you the latest news from London Luton Airport. We hope you will find the contrents interesting. This will a factual page, not just flattering blurbs. If there is a criticism, we will publish it.

Luton Airport put this notice on its website today.

Due to heavy snowfall, the runway at London Luton Airport is closed for snow clearing until approximately 13.00.  Arriving and departing flights are subject to delay and or cancellation. Passengers and those meeting people at the airport are advised to contact the airline directly.

Rabbi Alan Plancey is an associate chaplain at the new multi-faith prayer room at Luton Airport — the second in the UK after Heathrow to offer the facility beyond the security search area.The Elstree Synagogue emeritus minister will focus on staff and passengers on Tel Aviv flights.Located on the upper level of the departure lounge, it is open around the clock. The chaplaincy team, led by the Reverend Michael Banfield, worked with the airport on the design and equipping of the room.

Furious passengers are complaining that they had to sleep overnight at Luton Airport without any refreshments after a large number of flights were cancelled last night.

The airport's main airline, easyJet, cancelled over 50 flights from Luton alone between yesterday afternoon and this morning, and other airlines were also grounded leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded.

Luton Airport was the  worst affected of the London Airports worked through the night to clear the runway of heavy snow but passengers were left fuming at a lack of information provided.

They claimed that airport staff offered little help or sympathy as many travellers were forced to bed down in the terminal for the night.

Nicky Tiller, 24, a government researcher from Tottenham, had her flight to Dublin cancelled and slept on the airport floor. She said: 'It was absolute chaos last night. All of a sudden every single flight was cancelled and we were not told what to do.

'The lucky people were the ones who got the benches. We ended up on the floor. There were children crying and noise all night. I didn't get much sleep. I can't believe a little bit of snow has caused all this.'

Student Elisa Hidalgo, 25, who was due to fly to Paris, said: 'It has been an awful night. We had to sleep lying on our backpacks in front of Burger King on the dirty floor. We got here at 1pm yesterday afternoon and they told us that the flight was going to be cancelled and we just had to wait.'

VILLAGERS who claim plane noise is ruining their lives are set for a showdown with airport bosses. Families, pensioners and home-workers in Cambridgeshire have complained about a marked increase in the number of flights, and a lowering of the height aircraft are travelling at, as reported in the News.Complaints began to come in at the start of the summer from the south-west of the county, particularly Cambourne, the Gransdens, Litlington and the Mordens.But air traffic control chiefs deny there have been any changes to flight paths, and the region's airports say the number of services has reduced this year because of the recession.

Now councillors and environmental health officers will meet staff at Stansted Airport in a bid to thrash out the problem.They have also asked for comparative data on plane height and flight paths.The team then hopes to meet bosses at Luton Airport.

Cllr Linda Oliver, who represents Litlington and the Mordens on Cambridgeshire County Council, said she had received dozens of letters about increased aviation noise.

She said: "There's clearly been a change in routes.

"We've got to make it very plain that the level of noise, the frequency of flights, and the height, are totally unacceptable."

Cllr Oliver said residents had complained about being woken up by the noise and about being forced to break off telephone conversations.

Some families have monitored the noise and found it to be 50 decibels - similar to being in an average office.

South Cambridgeshire District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council are collaborating on the issue and the approach to Stansted is being led by Cllr Ian Bates, leader of the latter authority.

A Stansted Airport spokeswoman confirmed receipt of the request for flight path data.

She said: "We have invited them in for a meeting and it has been put in the diary for January."

The noise is not linked to the recent consultation on flight paths led by National Air Traffic Services but it has been suggested this could make homeowners more aware of any aircraft noise. 

Budget carrier easyJet may have experienced a great November with an increase in passenger bookings of 12 per cent, but recent news is less rosy.

The airline has revealed it will be making cuts that will result in a shut down of all its operations at East Midlands Airport and decrease flights at Luton Airport in London by 20 percent.

Flights originating from East Midlands Airport will be halted on January 5, 2010. Travellers who have made bookings for flights beyond that date with be contacted via email during the next week and given either a free transfer to another flight on easyJet, a free transfer to a flight on bmibaby or a 100% refund.

The 20 percent flight reduction from Luton Airport will mean that air connections with Athens, Cagliari and Vienna will be stopped, as well as decreased frequencies on many other routes.

An easyJet representative claimed that the carrier was considering moving some capacity to more profitable airports, although it may soon prove to be a futile option since an independent climate committee spearheaded by the British Government is scheduled to reveal that budget air travel represents an unsustainable commercial activity if the country is to meet its goals in carbon dioxide emission reduction.

To keep in line with this environmental proposal, expansion plans at regional airports have to be halted. These air facilities include Gatwick, Luton, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham and Bristol airports. The proposal also calls for large carbon taxes to be applied on ticketing prices.

Flight path changes at Luton Airport that could see thousands of homes in the Luton and Dunstable area suffer extra aircraft noise have been put on hold.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) wanted to change the flight paths in and out of Luton Airport as part of a plan to change routes around the South East because of new navigation technology.

But a public consultation last year showed there was overwhelming opposition to the changes, which would have seen Caddington, Slip End, Edlesborough and Eaton Bray adversely affected by noise from westerly departures.

NATS then announced a rethink, but it wasn't all welcome news, with the company announcing the revised plan could involve planes flying over Whipsnade, Totternhoe, Edlesborough and Dunstable.

But it has now been announced that a new public consultation is being put on hold until September 2010 at the earliest.

NATS' general manager for strategy and investment, Alex Bristol, said: "The downturn in air traffic levels internationally since the first consultation means there is less urgency than there was originally for this development.

"We are continuing to develop alternatives following the feedback that was received during the first consultation that, where possible, address some of the concerns that were raised at that time.

"Doing nothing is not a long term option if we are to further enhance safety in the area and we anticipate bringing forward some smaller changes from the proposal while we continue work on the overall design."

For weeks, pilots at Luton Airport had complained about losing radio contact as they came in to land.

But government investigators were stunned when they traced the problems to an 11-year-old schoolboy watching TV in his bedroom.

According to Ofcom, pilots coming into land lost contact with the control tower because Nickie Chamberlain's faulty aerial booster was transmitting on the same frequency as their radios.

Budget airline Easyjet has called on Luton council to help make Luton Airport more competitive.

Easyjet chief executive Andy Harrison has written to Luton Borough Council urging the authority to help reduce the airport's costs.

The letter came as 100 Easyjet cabin crew protested in Luton over planned cuts at the town's airport.

The council said it had no power to intervene in negotiations between Easyjet and the airport operator.

A spokeswoman for operator London Luton Airport Operations said the firm had nothing to add to a statement issued earlier this month when Easyjet first announced its proposed cuts.

'Airport should grow'

The statement said: "We regret that Easyjet has chosen not to take up the improved commercial terms on offer from the airport, which are highly competitive."

In an open letter to leader of Luton Borough Council Hazel Simmons, Mr Harrison urged the council to liaise between the airline and council-appointed operating company, to lower costs.

The letter said: "Luton airport should be growing not shrinking.

"The council cannot escape its responsibility to make the airport competitive.

"The council own the airport, the council take more than half of the airport charges paid by Easyjet."

'Enormous sympathy'

Easyjet said that because of a 25% increase in airport costs over the past three years, Luton had become uncompetitive.

Mr Harrison said it had already reduced its flying at Luton by 14%, and now has plans to reduce it further by 20%.

Ms Simmons said: "We have enormous sympathy for the Easyjet workers.

But negotiations are between Easyjet and the airport operator - London Luton Airport Operations Ltd - which is a private consortium.

"Luton Borough Council is not party to them or able to influence them."

With overseas travel down by 14 per cent on 2008, Servisair, one of the world's biggest ground handling firms, is axing its Luton Airport operation because there is not enough work for staff.Servisair said the decision to sell to rivals Aviance comes because three firms are competing for a shrinking market.

A worried member of the 140-strong Luton workforce said: "We've been told to expect redundancies in a couple of weeks."

Luton-based no frills airline easyJet has just announced it is reducing its flying programme at Luton Airport by 20 per cent.

The budget carrier says the move is a response to "the airport's failure to recognise the commercial realities of the recession and that easyJet has opportunities to move capacity to more attractive locations elsewhere in its network as weaker competitors retrench in today's tough climate".

And it expects that most of the aircraft affected will be redeployed to continental European bases. Luton is one of easyJet's largest bases, flying 4.7 million passengers a year with 16 aircraft. EasyJet employs 530 pilots and cabin crew at Luton Airport.

But airport costs have risen by 25 per cent over the past three years which makes the base no longer competitive for the airline.

The company has been in protracted negotiations with Abertis, the Spanish operator of Luton Airport and its owner Luton Borough Council, but talks reached an impasse and easyJet said it had "no alternative" but to reallocate parts of its flying programme.

EasyJet has opened a formal 90 day consultation period with its crew, but has said there are sufficient opportunities within its growing network for all employees who are affected by today's announcement.

Thousands of Britons have had their holidays plans ruined after troubled budget airline SkyEurope suspended all flights in and out of the UK.

About 500 people hoping to fly from Britain today were left scrambling to find alternative carriers after the move, according to UK travel organisation Abta.

Many more people have been left stranded across continental Europe, facing similar problems.

The Slovakia-based airline, which flies out of Luton Airport and Manchester Airport, warned that it 'may not be possible' to offer refunds to those who booked flights direct with the airline.

Passengers who had booked by credit card should be able to get their money back, according to Abta.

Rival budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet have both offered special fares to get SkyEurope passengers home.

SkyEurope’s financial situation went from bad to worse today, after Prague Airport decided that it would no longer serve the Slovak low-cost carrier’s flights until it paid its outstanding debt. Prague’s move follows the Vienna Airport’s decision to cancel all SkyEurope flights due to unpaid bills, which forced the carrier to transport ticket-holders to Bratislava Airport, located 59km from the Austrian capital.

But the question now becomes whether or not SkyEurope will be able to survive the suspension of both its Prague and Vienna bases, and the likely collapse in passenger bookings. The first signs seem to cast doubt on SkyEurope’s future. Bratislava Airport’s website indicates that the vast majority of SkyEurope flights due to depart today have been canceled. Additionally, the airport’s website suggests that all SkyEurope flights scheduled for this evening and early Tuesday morning have been cancelled as well, including London Luton, Brussels, Amsterdam, Bucharest-Baneasa, Istanbul, Lisbon and Larnaca. Almost all arrivals into Bratislava have been canceled as well for later this evening and early Tuesday morning, including flights headed to the Slovak capital from Nice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris-Orly and Rome-Fiumicino.

SkyEurope offered 20 destinations from Prague, but all of these flights will be suspended effective Tuesday, September 1, 2009. While the Slovak carrier issued no comments following the suspension of its Prague operations and the cancellation of nearly all flights from Bratislava, airport officials in Prague did suggest that they would be willing to resume flights, as long as the airline paid its outstanding balance. “If cash is delivered during the course of the day tomorrow, our company is prepared to immediately [resume] provision of services up to the amount of the deposit paid,” Prague officials noted.

SkyEurope’s has faced difficult odds for the past year, as Hungarian low-cost carrier surpassed its Slovak rival by becoming the region’s largest discount airline and as SkyEurope bookings dropped by 37 percent over the past 12 months.

Firefighters rushed to Luton Airport after reports of smoke in a plane overhead caused a full scale emergency.

Three fire engines, an aerial platform, a foam unit, a water carrier and an emergency response unit carrying special equipment, were called to the airport shortly after 7.30am after a 'category A' emergency was declared. A fire engine was also sent to junction 10 of the M1 motorway in case it needed to be closed due to the proximity of the runway.

But the Boeing 737 landed safely and Luton Airport fire service inspected the aircraft while Beds and Luton Fire and Rescue Service waited on standby.

Talks between Luton Airport owners and Easyjet over landing fees have reportedly broken down, with the possibility that EasyJet may move some planes away from Luton Airport to Stansted Airport.

Negotiations between easyJet and Luton airport over landing fees for next year are understood to have reached an impasse that could threaten the size of the airline’s presence at the base.

EasyJet, which is the largest airline at Luton, is understood to be refusing to pay higher landing charges proposed by the airport and debating whether to move aircraft to Stansted and Gatwick instead.

The airline started at Luton and still regards it as its “spiritual home” but has been at odds with the airport over several issues, including a £1 drop-off charge, as well as the proposed increase in landing fees.

Sources close to the negotiations suggest airport charges already make up about 10% of the average easyJet fare from Luton Airport and the proposed increase would force it to raise ticket prices for passengers.

It is thought that if easyJet does not get the deal it wants, it could drop plans to expand at Luton and move two of its eight aircraft based there to other airports.

A Luton airport spokeswoman said: “We are in negotiations with all of the airlines and  as we renegotiate contracts. We are always discussing new routes and growth with the airlines.”

EasyJet spokesman Andrew McConnell said: “Talks are still continuing between easyJet and the airport about airport costs and the future growth strategy, which would allow us to invest at the airport to create much needed jobs.”

More than 135,000 people flew from Luton Airport during the busy end of July period, the airport has revealed.While European sunshine destinations were among the most popular at the start of the peak summer period, the demand for city breaks was also high, with flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and Prague experiencing high demand.The Balearic Islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza were the airport's key holiday destinations, in addition to Spanish mainland resorts close to Alicante and Malaga. Elsewhere, the Turkish destinations of Dalaman and Bodrum and Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh are also experiencing high number of holidaymakers, with Brits opting for the favourable exchange rate that both countries can offer. Many people also chose to book flights to Larnaca and Paphos in Cyprus from Luton Airport.

The distance between London and Tel Aviv shrank this week as low-cost airline EasyJet announced it would start flying from Ben-Gurion International Airport to London. The price will start at 100 pounds.

EasyJet, however, wants to fly more than the London Luton Airport route - it will also offer cheap fares from Israel to Switzerland.

The three airlines that now fly the regularly-scheduled Tel Aviv-London Luton route - BMI, El Al and British Airways - were surprised by EasyJet's planned six weekly flights to London Luton Airport starting in November. And they are also casting doubts about the fares. Sebastian Weinstein, the CEO of BMI Israel, said the 100 pound fare is just meant to attract customers, and EasyJet will add fees for services such as luggage, food and preferred seating. "The final price will be high and only a small number of seats on the flight will be sold at the minimum price," said Weinstein, adding that competition will determine the price. BMI's current price starts at $465 for economy class, all included. British Airways is also preparing for EasyJet, saying the cheap prices offerd are only for off-season flights. What may interest Israelis more than the London Luton Airport route is the introduction of flights to Switzerland, after Israel and the Swiss signed a new aviation agreement at the end of June. Currently, only Swiss and El Al fly regularly scheduled flights between the countries, but this can now change, as EasyJet is already registered and operates in Switzerland.

"I was walking my dog in Stevenage when I spotted a light in the sky.

I am accustomed to aircraft in the area due to our proximity of Luton airport so thought little of it at first.

To the North (above the A1M) in the nights sky at a distance of approximately 5-10 miles North of Stevenage, I saw a bright ‘fire-ball-like’ light (which I at first assumed to be a plane), glowing red as it rose from its low horizon, changing colour as it ascended through orange, yellow and white; an educated guess lead me to the conclusion this was as a result of atmospheric polution.

I can best describe its course as a deliberate a South bound ascending s-shape until its disappearance into the cloud base at approximately 4000 feet.

At this point I feel I should I explain that I am an engineer and not taken with flights of fantasy or E.T, also I have served on RAF sites for several years so my estimates shouldn’t be too wildy inaccurate!

Initially what struck me as odd was that the light was quite large and bright, akin to the flame of military aircraft on full thrust so I was confused as to why I could see the thruster flames as it headed in my direction, a reflection off the clouds perhaps?

Within about ten seconds of seeing the first light a second almost identicle light appeared, taking the exact same flight path as the first.

This repeated itself several more times until there was a steady stream of what appeared to be five or six similar lights on a virtualy identicle flight path in the nights sky about a two miles apart.

There was no sound at all and yet if they were military aircraft and I could see the lights as large as I could, then there should be sound.

I would guess that from the point of appearing in my feild of vision to the point of disappearing into the clouds was ten to fifteen miles, less than two minutes.

I am aware that there was a rock concert in Knebworth Saturday night, the lighting show from which may have caused this, but the distances involved would push even todays technical limits plus you would expect to see contours of the underside of the clouds as the light reflected. This did not happen, the lights I saw were large and constant apart from a twinkle as they changed colour rising through the atmosphere.

Have you had any other reports from anyone else or am I mad? I know what I saw, I just don’t know “what” I saw?!

I have no footage, it was too dark for my crapy mobile.

Btw they weren’t chinese lanterns!!  "

Eight members of staff from Monarch Aircraft Engineering will be getting their heads in the clouds this summer by taking to the skies as cabin crew for Monarch Airlines

Six engineering apprentices, Michael Gepp, Rhys Jones, Liam Eeles, Phil Harding, Daniel Wiggins and Alistair Reid, based at London Luton Airport, have traded in their socket sets for safety demonstrations as part of an innovative new training programme designed to expose them to all aspects of the Monarch operation.

In addition, Chris Holt (45) and Ashley Sandford (29), both highly-qualified aircraft technicians based at Monarch's engineering facility at Manchester Airport, will be experiencing life in the skies after applying for a secondment to work on Monarch's scheduled and charter flights this summer.

Both groups successfully completed their cabin service training in July and, having earned their wings, will be operating on Monarch's scheduled and charter flights until 31st October 2009.

Richard Mintern, Managing Director of Monarch Aircraft Engineering, commented: "We hope that all our apprentices and engineers will be given the opportunity to experience life as a cabin crew member during their career with Monarch. This will broaden their understanding of how the airline and engineering divisions interact with each other, providing them with a comprehensive appreciation of the workings of an airline and its support and maintenance systems."

Also commenting, Monarch Airlines Managing Director Tim Jeans said: "A close working relationship with our engineering colleagues is vital to our success, and having engineers with first-hand flying experience will be invaluable. In completing this programme the engineers will see how first-class engineering support translates into punctual services for our customers, and demonstrate that the extremely high standards they are expected to achieve as engineers are replicated by their colleagues operating our flights."

EasyJet to Sponsor Luton Town Football Club                          July 29 2009

EasyJet has agreed a two-year deal to sponsor the club, which was relegated from the Football League last season after suffering a 30-point deduction for going into administration.

‘EasyJet and Luton Town both have their traditions in Luton and to have finally agreed a partnership of this kind is great for the town and is enormously beneficial to both parties,' said Luton Town managing director, Gary Sweet.

The no-frills carrier is based at London Luton Airport.

Luton Airport has now introduced a £1 charge for dropping passengers off at the terminal, July 20 2009.

Motorists at the airport will have to pay the charge to spend up to 10 minutes in a refurbished drop-off zone. The levy, will be enforcedat barriers at the exit of the zone.Luton, like many other airports, already charges £1 for the use of luggage trolleys and the same amount for clear plastic bags to take liquids through security. Travellers can also pay £3 to use a "priority lane" to get through security more quickly.

An Airport spokeswoman said drivers who did not wish to use the drop-off zone could leave passengers at the mid-term car park where there is a free shuttle buss to the terminal two minutes drive away.

Airport operator Abertis also runs Cardiff and Belfast airports, sparking fears similar fees could spread to other hubs.Nic Horton, Luton's general manager of projects and development, said: "Dropping passengers off can be a stressful experience, we have therefore given careful consideration to providing the right facilities and enough time for people to unload in a secure environment. Making a small charge reminds drivers of the 10-minute time allocation and keeps the traffic flowing. By offering a choice of options we can provide an airport experience to suit the needs of all our passengers."

The new zone has more space for people to unload as well as larger bays for passengers with reduced mobility. Birmingham Airport charges £1 for 15 minutes for its ``drop and go'' car park next to the terminals, or £2 for 30 minutes."

The fact is, passengers hate the new charge and the system.

High Tech Passenger tracking technology at Luton Airport

London Luton Airport and Leeds Bradford International are using the latest in passenger tracking technology from Real Time and Bluelon as part of the airports' continued drive for increased efficiency and passenger convenience .Real Time has deployed the iQueue solution from Bluelon to monitor passenger movements throughout the terminals .
The solution works by tracking the individual anonymous Bluetooth signals from passengers' mobile phones as they move through the terminals .Alaistair Deacon, Real Time's Chief Technology Officer, explains: ”As passengers walk through the terminal, a number of BlueTrack sensors from Bluelon log their times at each location .
This data is then used to build up a complete picture of the airport terminal performance in real time .
London Luton, one of the UK's busiest airports handling over 10 million passengers each year, has deployed the solution throughout their security search and immigration areas to monitor and manage their performance .
Andrew Judge, Operations Director at London Luton Airport, said ”Monitoring waiting times at the security search and immigration is a vital part of the work that allows London Luton to deliver excellent customer service .
The solution from Real Time and Bluelon allows us to measure and manage our performance throughout the day .
Approximately 15% of the passengers within the airport can be tracked automatically by continuously recording the location of their wireless devices .
The solution is completely non-intrusive and does not affect passenger processing in any way .With over 400 flights per week flying to over 70 rivoltions worldwide, Leeds Bradford has also deployed laser passenger counting to measure the total volume of passengers entering the security areas .
The total passenger count functionality is an optional add-on which further augments the core data of the Bluelon iQueue solution .
”The security screening service is outsourced to an external service provider, said Adrian Rollins, Information Technology Manager at Leeds Bradford .
”The iQueue solution allows us to monitor queuing performance and ensure service levels agreements and key performance indicators are being met .
Our aim is to offer best in class facilities and provide an improved passenger experience .
London Luton and Leeds Bradford join the increasing number of airports using iQueue to measure and manage terminal performance .
The iQueue system is rapidly becoming the de-facto standard in airport queue management as Value Added Reseller wins, such as Real Time's, expand the market penetration said Lars Paulsen, Bluelon's senior vice president of sales and marketing .
The Luton airport project represents the sixth successful iQueue deployment within a relatively short period, and we are very happy to be actively engaging in discussions regarding similar deployments at many airports world-wide .

More passenger complaints at Luton Airport. After annoying passengers with the £1 drop off charge, the knock on effects are causing more problems, as Chris Haslam of The Times writes today, July 5.

" Luton airport will be raising our frustration levels to new heights this summer with a new traffic-management plan causing confusion and gridlock on the approach road. Passengers arriving for early-morning flights last week were horrified to find traffic tailing back for more than a mile beyond the airport perimeter.

With taxis and private cars crawling at a snail’s pace, desperate passengers got out and started the long, uphill hike to the terminal. “This is inhumane,” seethed Sandra Morris, pushing a buggy with one hand and dragging her suitcase with another. “I feel like a refugee.”

“If I don’t walk, I’ll miss check-in,” said Alessandro Diaggio. “My wife has to return the rental car and I’m going to try to check her in, otherwise she’ll have to book another flight.”

At the front of the queue, airport workers acting as traffic marshals bore the brunt of passengers’ ire. “It’s not our fault,” said one. “It’s the idiots running the airport who can’t see the chaos their master plan has caused.”
Related Links

    * Luton Airport to charge £1 to drop-off passengers

That “master plan” is a scheme to charge drivers to drop passengers at a “priority set-down area” alongside the terminal. If you’re in and out in 10 minutes, the fee is £1, but if you stay a minute longer, it’s £50. Those wishing to avoid the levy are forced to double back to the mid-term car park, half a mile from the terminal.

Introduced last week, the new traffic-management scheme has the stated aim “to... ensure that all passengers, including the elderly and less mobile, are best able to access the terminal in a secure and orderly manner”.

According to one elderly passenger, sitting exhausted with his luggage on a grass verge several hundred yards downhill from the terminal, “it’s a shambles. It looks like Dunkirk”.

Even those who thought they’d avoided the jams by taking public transport from the long-term car park found themselves trapped in the gridlock.

“It’s six in the morning on a weekday in term-time,” noted a courtesy bus driver. “Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when the schools break up? Thousands of people are going to miss their flights.”

Luton airport’s management, which already charges passengers £1 for the clear plastic bags in which to present liquids, and £3 for fast-track security, said that it could take between a month and six months to clear the congestion caused by the new scheme. “We’re doing everything we can to persuade the public to decide where they want to drop off before reaching the terminal. We’ve got a lot of signposts up and there’s information all over our website.” "

Our advice, forget asbout drop off, just park your car in one of the Luton Airport Car Parks.

Luton airport to launch new access plan

30 June 2009

London Luton airport has announced that it will launch a new access plan next month to allow passengers to reach the terminal in the most 'secure and orderly' manner possible.

The airport has announced that changes were being made to adapt to rising passenger numbers, with more than 10m people using the gateway in 2008.

Set to be implemented on 1 July, the plan includes a new priority drop-off area, where airport visitors can pay £1 for ten minutes to drop off passengers.

Luton airport will also put a new public transport interchange into operation that will see coach, bus and rail shuttle services stopping outside the terminal building and a dedicated bus lane opened.

Glyn Jones, managing director of the airport, said: 'London Luton airport remains committed to ensuring all passengers are able to access the terminal in a secure and orderly manner.

'By encouraging use of our mid-term car park, which is only a two-minute bus ride from the terminal, and the excellent public transport links to and from the airport we will be better able to manage traffic flows around the terminal.'

EasyJet has announced an innovative new service on its  inbound flights to London Gatwick, London Stansted and London Luton Airports.  The airline will sell London Transport Oyster cards on its flights for a trial period of three months, and if the trial is sucessful may extend the service.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London said "Many of us share the experience of arriving in a new city and having our first moments taken up with the baffling process of working out what tickets are needed.

"People flying to London with easyJet can now pick up one of our cards and enjoy the ease, convenience and good value offered by Oyster."

Well done to EasyJet for this great idea.

Luton Airport Owners annoy passengers

Luton Airport will begin charging drivers £1 to drop-off passengers from July 1.

Drivers will pay at barriers at the exit of the zone. They will have to stay with their vehicles while inside the drop-off zone and will have to leave it within ten minutes.

Luton already charges £1 for the use of luggage trolleys and the same amount for clear plastic bags in which to take liquids through security.

Travellers can also pay £3 to use a "priority lane" to get through security more quickly.

The airport said that drivers who did not wish to use the drop-off zone could leave passengers at the mid-term car park from where a free shuttle bus leaves every ten minutes for the two-minute journey to get to the terminal.

Passengers, however, are not happy.