By Graham Olver, CEO, London Luton Airport Ltd
There’s been a bit of a media flurry in the last few days, so I thought it might be a good moment to set out a few of the most important things that we’re doing at London Luton Airport.
Airports need to think wholly differently about how we go about our business. The criticisms over the environmental harm we cause – principally carbon emissions, noise, traffic and loss of air quality – are not irritants to be waved away, or massaged with warm words and vague commitments. They reflect the unpleasant reality of a busy airport.
Yet here we are with the aspiration of being an even busier airport. In fact, we want to grow our capacity from the 2019 figure of 18 million passengers, to a future annual capacity of 32 million passengers.
Here’s how we square that circle
We’ve taken advantage of the enforced pause caused by the pandemic to re-look at our expansion plans for the airport. By radically revisiting the original design, we have not only dramatically reduced the environmental impact, we have slashed the cost too: nearly a £1 billion saving from the £3.2 billion costing.
This re-design means that the second terminal and its aircraft stands can occupy a smaller footprint, avoiding the need to displace 1.5 million cubic meters of earth (equivalent to the size of the second largest Egyptian pyramid). Removing that amount of earth would have taken 375,000 truckloads.
It also means far less concrete is needed. Drainage can now be installed under the platform – reducing the need for piping away from the site – and reshaping the car parking means a proposed multi-storey car park can be scrapped.
Necessity is of course the mother of invention, and engineering ingenuity is part of the story here. But not all choices are going to be so win-win: serious financial trade-offs lie ahead.
A culture change needs to happen
Environmental targets and regulations have to stop being seen as obstacles which we try and find our way around, and start being part of our mission.
Our Green Managed Growth framework for our proposed expansion creates bindingtargets, which are independently measured. If we are in danger of missing a target, we have to take steps to change that. If we get closer still to missing that target, we have to stop the development right there. Suddenly, what were just nice-sounding aspirations become very real.
We’re a very different business in other ways too
Like most airports, we’re a very important part of the local economy – in our case, driving economic activity of around £1.8 billion per year, and 27,000 jobs. The proposed expansion is projected to add another £2 billion annually, and 16,000 more jobs.
Unlike all other major UK airports, we are community-owned – our sole shareholder is Luton Borough Council. That has meant over £287m going to frontline public services in Luton. Over and above that, around £155m has gone to local charity and community projects. And Luton needs it – it is one of the most deprived towns in the UK.
How can we do even more for our community?
How can we engage other businesses, philanthropists and charitable foundations to join our efforts to improve lives in our community? How can we be a beacon for new businesses, particularly in the fields of technological innovation in aviation, utilising our pivotal position in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc? In short, how can our business be an even more powerful springboard for social impact?
We think this is the future
This isn’t just about what is necessary for this airport, in this country, at this point. No airport is going to be immune from the global pressure to reduce carbon emissions. No business operates in isolation from its community. We can be an exemplar for what is possible.
Watch this space.