I have been using LTN for over 20 years, usually for domestic and near European. My mother lived in the IOM for 26 years and this was my usual route, also, I commuted to EDI for six months in 2001.
In short: It was the best little airport. Following construction of the new terminal it is one of the worst.
Access: I have always used car as I lived close by. The new access road is still being built but the complete and utter clanx up of the main road into the terminal area means that it will never run smoothly. I won't detail it now, either ask me for more, or check into the
Airports, Aircraft & Routes forum. Car parks are increasingly expensive - they have learnt that from BAA. The set-down/pick up is just terrible and, again, ask for more detail as I am trying not to make this too long and besides, if I write too much about how bad LTN is, it will do terrible things to my blood pressure.
Terminal: You enter on the Left and cross to the Right for check-in desk then return to the Left to go up to security. The main gangway from the check in to the security barrier is only about 3.5m wide (I sit to be corrected) and hemmed in by shops and cafe with people emerging from them to slow the pax hurrying to the escalators/lifts and steps for security.
Once through security (not too bad) you find that you have crossed again to the Right hand side. The problem being that many of the gates on the Left hand side but - because of security, you now have to walk three sides of a square to get there. The time and distance is enormous.
As you are walking around to the distant gates, you realise that the corridors are made very cheaply and are cold in the winter. There are NO travelators anywhere. Why? They cost money and mean that the corridors have to be wider and that makes them more expensive too. For older people that do not yet need a wheel chair, it is a terrible airport.
Lastly, they have made the same mistake that all modern terminals (inc LHR T5) in the choice of flight info display boards. They use flat panel PC screens set vertically. These cannot be read when you are more than 2.5/3m away. That means that you cannot sit on a seat (find one first
) and look at the nice big 'flik-flak' board for your flight. You have to get up and cross over to get within reading distance of the flat panels - then go back to your seat, if not yet taken by another. This adds to personal sense of frustration and certainly to the congestion of people milling around trying to see if there is an update on their flight.
Now, before I explode, I'll sign off, ask for more detail if you need but LTN now gets me only because it is many times further to STN (which also used to be good and is now worse).