A UK airport has been given official approval for its planned expansion that will see it DOUBLE passengers numbers.
Its other plans include a brand-new terminal and expanding the existing one too.
London Luton Airport has now cleared all legal hurdles in order to expand in a £2.4billion project.
The initial plans were first approved by the government in April 2025.
Then on July 31, the Supreme Court declined to grant campaigners final permission to appeal – meaning the plans can go-ahead unopposed.
Now, the airport is set to build a new terminal as well as work on its existing one so that it can welcome up to 32million passengers by 2043.
Flights will increase to 209,000 flights per year from its current average between 65,000 to 68,000.
Last year, Luton was UK’s fifth-busiest airport and saw 17.5million passengers.
The expansion will also create 11,000 new jobs at the airport, with 4,400 of those in the town itself.
Paul Kehoe, chair of Luton Rising which owns Luton Airport, called clearing it a “landmark moment”.
He said: “We are very pleased to now have the certainty we have been working towards.
“As a community-owned organisation, every passenger travelling through our airport means more investment in local people and services.”
Last year, London Luton won the award for the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline Terminal 2025′ by Skytrax.
Based on passenger satisfaction and overall experience, Luton Airport was been crowned the best terminal in the UK for budget airlines.
The airport is home to airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air.
It then welcomed airline Jet2 to the airport with 17 new routes at its start in April last year.
And throughout the month of August this year, London Luton Airport has launched free bus travel for any passenger travelling to the terminal.
Here’s what Head of Sun Travel, Lisa Minot, thinks of the expansion…
Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in.
DESPITE the objections of environmental lobbyists, the expansion of Luton Airport can ONLY be a good thing for the UK and its beleaguered travellers.
Airport capacity in the UK has simply not kept up with the pace of demand and increasingly outdated infrastructure is creaking under the strain.
We desperately need to invest in our airport infrastructure to compete on the global stage. As an island, it’s even more essential.
Luton has been the butt of jokes since the 1977 classic Campari advert that had Lorraine Chase utter the famous line, ‘Nah, Luton Airport’ – satirising the growth in international travel.
While nothing will happen overnight, the opening of a second terminal will no doubt transform the experience of travelling through what is right now a very cramped airport.
And with theme park giant Universal looking to bring their signature attractions to a brownfield site in Bedfordshire, increasing the connectivity and number of passengers the airport can handle is ever more of a priority.