London Luton Airport enjoyed its busiest ever summer as it welcomed 5.3 million passengers between 1st June and 31st August, an increase of 7.3% on the previous year.
It comes as the airport announces a partnership with the new operator of the East Midlands Railway, Abellio, to bring an express train service to the airport. The service, which will launch in December 2020 and operate from London St Pancras once every half an hour, will cut journey times to the airport from central London.
Sunspots Malaga, Barcelona, Lisbon and Palma de Mallorca all made the top ten most popular destinations, as did Tel-Aviv with 145,000 passengers heading to Israel during the summer. Amsterdam retained the number one spot though with a total of 198,000 passengers.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Departing Passenger Survey, published this summer, showed that 83% of passengers using LLA rated their experience as “Excellent” or “Good”.
Alberto Martin, CEO of LLA, said: “The summer period is always a busy time for the airport, and this year was no exception. Our new agreement with Abellio marks a step-change in rail connectivity between London and its fastest-growing airport, and will deliver the improved travel experience which our passengers deserve.”