I have a dirty travel secret — and it’s about Luton airport

“Luton airport is great — once you see it behind you, from the air.” My mate Phil is not alone in this damning indictment of our local airport but I beg to differ. And with the announcement that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will, come summer, make London Luton Airport (LLA) its 13th UK base, flying to destinations including Girona, Madeira and Verona (all new to Jet2 and Luton), there will be some 430,000 more passengers in 2025 who stand to agree with me.

And yet, such is Luton’s reputation as the nadir of air travel, that a mere mention of it is likely to elicit an eyeroll (or worse) at what they’d describe as the endless building works, long security queues and the “grotty and cramped” facilities — barely improved since Lorraine Chase first wafted from its departure lounge into the Campari ad in the 1970s. That it’s wholly council-owned gives further rise to scoffs — and don’t get our esteemed writer Chris Haslam started on the “shambles” that is the Luton DART, a rail shuttle from Luton Airport Parkway railway station: “£4.90 for a four-minute journey that would be free anywhere else in the world”. After being voted the worst UK airport by Which? in 2017, Luton edged up the rankings to a slightly-less-miserable 26th out of 29 earlier this year, when it was compelled to respond that it meets “all international standards regarding the ratio of seating and toilets per passenger”.

While I am no expert on bums on loos, I wonder how long it is since the critics have actually flown from Luton. And I’d suggest that an airport that functions through years of development is actually pretty remarkable. Vasile Stanciu of local executive car service A Plus Taxi is there most days. “What was once a tired terminal with a distant potholed car park is now lovely, with two multistorey car parks and a covered pick-up and drop-off area close to the terminal.” Even after last year’s car-park fire, he says, the airport has shown resilience and agility in minimising disruption.

In fact, my initial affinity with the airport was emotional, not practical. In the days when it was more acceptable to hop on a plane for a business meeting, I left my watch — a wedding gift — in the security tray at dawn. When, at 39,000ft, the full horror hit me, the easyJet air steward called the airport from a Dom Joly-esque in-flight phone, and promised it would be waiting for me when I arrived back that night. It was: delivered with a friendly smile and a cheeky note reminding me to have a coffee before I arrived next time.

I’ve told this story so often that recently, when I left my boarding pass in duty free and had my name called over the Tannoy, friends elsewhere in the airport simply assumed I’d made some new friends among airport staff. And when I was thankfully reunited with the pass, I did.

Yes, I know the lesson here is that I should stop booking early flights. But I am not alone in my fandom. I am part of a tribe of Luton Airport Lovers (Luvvers?). We are a local and grateful bunch, so excited to be travelling we choose to take it at face value, and choose not to curse its little inconveniences. Instead we take the wins — starting with the savings we’ve made, in the cost of getting to the airport, in the cost to the environment — and in the time spent getting through it.

We love that the free drop-off from the mid-stay car park is walkable rather than a bus ride. We relish the smaller square footage that not only makes the airport quicker to navigate but is less overwhelming for the old (or those whose travelling companions make you feel old — toddlers, teenagers, grumpy spouses, I’m talking to you).

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Luvvers also appreciate its constantly improving food and drink options — including the recent addition, Indian street-food specialist Chaiiwala — and that its facilities are more family-friendly than at near neighbour Stansted. The Fast Track channel is often empty and, from £4, cheap to use. (Early risers can also now take advantage of LLA’s Prebook Security initiative, a free service allowing passengers to skip security queues by reserving a 10-minute slot, booked between four days and 60 minutes in advance, before travelling. The catch is you have to be there between 3am and 4.30am …). Since July, passengers haven’t had to remove liquids during security checks. The Hawker Bar has a little-known outside terrace (thanks, Chris Haslam). For a premium experience, there are two pay-to-use lounges. And you can play “spot your street” as you take off.

According to Advantage Travel, my tribe of Luvvers is replicated across the country, as more passengers choose their holiday destination according to the airport they’ll fly from. Destinations such as Malta say regional airports are helping extend the trend for off-season travel — a more responsible and enjoyable way to travel.

So well done Jet2 for joining this band of Luvvers, who know Luton Airport is as good on the ground as it is from the air.

What is your favourite airport? Please let us know in the comments

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