Luton Airport – An Underappreciated Gem

Combining the old school charm of far flung railway terminus with the lively bombast of a market town Witherspoons at closing time, Luton Airport really does have something to offer everyone.

Fans of half completed construction projects are also well catered for. If you couldn’t get enough of the Sagrada Familia scaffolding wait to you see Luton Airport’s efforts. After all who needs a cathedral when you can have an extensive paid for passenger drop off area instead.

While travellers may be tempted to rush through the airport there is much to reward those who linger a bit longer and mingle with their fellow traveller.  And mingle you shall, as the airport has thoughtfully provided very limited seating so you can literally rub shoulders. This thoughtful feature has also been extended to the toilet facilities where extensive queuing is very much part of the charm.

When, reluctantly no doubt, it’s time for your onward journey you will have an extensive range of the finest airlines to choose from.  Some of whom provide bonus exercise by putting the final call notice up 13 seconds after the gate has been called

All this a short 120 minute drive from London

😆 ^^

I opened the thread to say something along the lines of “WTF, it’s a bloody shithole, with shit facilities, shit bars, shit everything…”

But it appears I don’t need to say any of that.

And the airport I get to use most often is Brizzle. Anything that makes Brizzle look good… 🙄

And the airport I get to use most often is Brizzle. Anything that makes Brizzle look good…

its getting better…and the new hotel onsite has made early morning flights a little more tolerable.

but yeah, only used luton once. not going back in a hurry.

What a fine post op, very eloquent and almost reverse psychology convincing, but i’ll stick with gatwick for now.

Try Exeter………there is a pedestrian crossing on the runway

What more can you ask for? Save a few quid booking a budget flight from Luton and enjoy the above description and drive to get there rather than going from Heathrow or Gatwick (if you’re London / SE based).

Luton is indeed a dump but what really hacks me off, apart from the aforementioned lack of seats is having to wait for a poxy bus to get to the rail link, not an integrated transport solution

Just like east Midlands, they had the cheek to build a new station, call it East Midlands Parkway and put it miles from the bastarding airport.

Mind you it only has about 3 flights a day*

*One of which went directly to where I needed to be in Europe the last time I had to travel**

**And cost £800 return.***

***I took the Eurostar.

Obviously, you haven’t flown from Barcelona South (Reus) Airport

Excellent review! Only one correction.

All this a short 120 minute drive from London

Strictly, it’s 45 mins to the airport link road, it’s only the last bit that makes it up to 2 hours.

And last time I went, some **** put a big dent in the side of my car in the car park as well.

On the positive side…..  last time I went we were flying with my mum who’s disabled so we got fast track through the big queues and then allowed to use a special waiting area near the gate. And frankly, I think I’d rather be wheelchair bound than have to use Luton again.

I love the approach by road through the post industrial dystopian wilderness. You think the experience can only get better. And it doesn’t.

Thats “London Luton” not mere Luton.

I believe the trains are even worse now thanks to Thameslinks “improvements” which have the trains missing Luton during rush hour.

About the one good thing to be said for it is the flight paths to it are a useful navigation aid when riding the backroads around that side of herts.

…just fly to City Rich, it’s much more civilised….

For the young people (are there any on here ??) :

I was there recently, went to the loo, and was greeted by two urinals full of purple vomit. Two.

Obviously, you haven’t flown from Barcelona South (Reus) Airport

Oh God, I have. Tin shack on a field sort of status. Massive flight delay, air con switched off during the day (a part-time airport) and when we finally got an airyplane after a 11.30hr delay they had told hustle us on board as the runway lights were going to be turned off at 10pm sharp – you have never seen so many motivated brits move so quick to get out of that shithole.

It made Leeds Bradford look well run and quite large.

Couldn’t give a toss about the airport really. I always aim to spend as little time in them as possible. The best investment you can make when travelling by air is a fast track ticket so you can time your dash to the gate to perfection. The closer to home the airport is the better.

Try Exeter………there is a pedestrian crossing on the runway

I think Gibraltar wins that particular contest, having a main road across its airport, oh, and a huge cliff face on one side

Having been in the US for the last 6 years, Having to use Luton twice in the last 6 months hasn’t been fun.

Although i I also travelled out of stansted which after doing it weekly for a few years I found myself completely lost.

How many shops and how few seats?

it amazes me how little space is allowed for bags in the seating areas. People were tripping over and pushing etc… all seemed a bit crazy.

Can’t complain about Luton, it’s easier by hours to get to for us than either Heathrow or (worse) Gatwick

East Midlands has it’s drop-off parking rate set somewhere above that of Knightsbridge, which isn’t bad for a field in Leics

The whole airport experience is awful, everywhere

I was quite impressed at Luton that they made boarding gate announcements. At Stansted there are no announcements and all screens are placed so that it’s not possible to sit anywhere and keep an eye on them. And 13 seconds between gate announcement and final call would be generous, they’re done simultaneously.

Luton is indeed a dump but what really hacks me off, apart from the aforementioned lack of seats is having to wait for a poxy bus to get to the rail link, not an integrated transport solution

Before waiting for the bus you have to find it, which is a challenge as there are no signs. Then after you’ve walked the couple of hundred yards to get to the stop you discover that you need £2.40. In cash. So you have to trek back to the terminal building to take out some money from an ATM and repeat the process.

And then wait for Thameslink. ’nuff said.

Luton is an integral part of the “hostile environment” to deter immigration – the queues for passport control snake up and down the arrivals area, along corridors and up and down stairs, right to the door to the tarmac. Any worse and the queue will begin at the plane.

Not going back in a hurry.

Luton airport is owned and run by Luton council. If you’ve ever spent time in Luton you’ll know this can’t be a good thing. That will be all.

On the up side it does have a Pret a Manger to enable the weary traveller to consume something other than fat saturated cardboard on their flight…

…on the down side it was closed the last time I flew out 🙁

I fly there with work from time to time, as it is right beside where we travel to. Last trip, flights were all delayed because of a French ATC strike and we were there for five sodding hours. Fortunately, we managed to establish ourselves in a corner of a restaurant and drink beer in peace.

The one-room shed that is Southampton has to also have an honourable mention. It lulls you with an empty pre-check in side, almost has tumbleweed blowing through, then you enter the one room where passengers from 8 Flybe and a channel islands flight look on in envy at the glamour that is the Cathay Pacific from Manchester(!) sat on the tarmac. You have the choice of a seat next to Bob the paperclip salesman, sweating heavily from the exertion of climbing the steps into the mezzanine or Tracy and the rest of her hen party, off to Amsterdam on a on mid-week deal…

I’ve never had the pleasure, but it must be bad. Every year when I was a kid my parents would go through the usual negotiations over a holiday, My Dad has similar traits to me, namely doesn’t see the point in ‘holidays’ that mean paying big money to lay about all day in the sun so wants to complete the job as cheaply as possible.

It wouldn’t matter how cheap (or less expensive as he’d say) it was, whenever the cheery travel agent would utter the word “Luton” My Dad would stop them “no, not Luton, never Luton” in fact it was such a deal breaker is was more like “Lu…” and he’d stop them.

Worst airport in recent memory for me? Geneva, it’s small but has that big airport ‘can’t find anything’ feel, the staff are rude for the sake of it and there’s never any seats near the gate, they ‘bing boing’ everyone down to the gate really early, I think perhaps just to see 300 people play musical chairs with the 50 seats on offer.

It further backs up my theory that the Swiss would rather you didn’t bother them by visiting, well unless you want to store the gold you took from the mouths of your victims or from the proceeds of your efforts in the ‘powders industry’.

Luton back in the 1980s was truly bad – no facilities at all but it was tiny and it didn’t handle many flights. Troop flight to Germany was tolerable.

Luton now is pretty horrible, especially in holiday season, but so are the rest. Except Heathrow in Business Class.

Whilst I admit Luton Airport can only be described as a dump, I otherwise find small airports always better than big ones.

My favourite right now is Norwich Airport, if only because there’s a good laugh to be had with people waiting for helicopter flights offshore. Quick 40 mins over to Amsterdam and onward to anywhere in their World. No need to go near that London.

Rachel

While we’re on about integrated transport networks, Liverpoo JLA is 2.6 miles away from its railway station. Do I win a prize?

While we’re on about integrated transport networks, Liverpoo JLA is 2.6 miles away from its railway station. Do I win a prize?

No, Melbourne wins by a country mile for that. It has no train station, public buses are sparingly available at best. You’re simply expected to spend nearly as much as it cost to get you to Australia on a cab to get you the 25 km to the city you thought you’d just flown to in the first place.

I actually don’t mind small airports.

What makes Luton particularly poor is it isn’t a small airport, it actually pretty busy.  What really grates is the fact they have spent a ton of money upgrading the retail spaces without bothering to sort out things like the loos or giving people a place to sit

If you think the airport is bad, try having a walk/drive around Luton itself :-/

I thought this was going to be a thread about the secret shop in Luton Airport. Guess it’ll just have to remain a secret then 🙂

Try Exeter………there is a pedestrian crossing on the runway

I think Gibraltar wins that particular contest, having a main road across its airport, oh, and a huge cliff face on one side

Sumburgh airport on Sheltland has a level crossing where the main road crosses the runway. The runway also points at a hill on side of which are the only houses for miles around.

If you think the airport is bad, try having a walk/drive around Luton itself :-/

Yeah I’ve seen 24 Hours in Police Custody, doesn’t paint a great picture.

I actually don’t mind small airports.

Cardiff Airport is a relative joy, helped mostly because it’s a 30 min drive for me, even though it’s not actually in Cardiff.

It’s small, fairly chilled, customs / security is usually painless, baggage arrives fairly quickly, easy to park.

There is a rail link from the gloriously grandly named “Rhoose Cardiff International Airport Railway Station”

If you want small, try Barra airport. It uses the beach for its runway, and flight times are guided by the tides.

The nearest train station is a bit of a trek though.

Has anybody mentioned Manchester? The security there are a shower of idiots and the airport is a national embarrassment. Actually I’m wrong; it’s not an airport, it’s a shonky shopping mall with a runway outside.

Best airports I know are Cape Town and Durban, both superb, with Johannesburg not far behind. That’s thanks to the footie world cup.

What really grates is the fact they have spent a ton of money upgrading the retail spaces without bothering to sort out things like the loos or giving people a place to sit

This times a million – they have done all sorts of stuff to get people to part with their money, but absolutely f***ing nothing to make travellers’ life more comfortable. It is even rubbish compared with Lisbon Terminal 2, which is going some 🙁