1) Airport drop off - why is there a charge?
To raise income due to reduced fees to airlines. Luton is no different to many UK airports like Stansted who also charge £3.
2) Airport road - why is the last mile to the terminal building always gridlocked and why does a three lane roundabout (where nobody is in the correct lane) go into a single lane road?
A new duel carriageway will open from that roundabout in the next few months and is under construction now. Whether this fixes the queues we will have to see as the queues start in the new improved drop off area due to a pedestrian crossing.
The other issue is a temporary pedestrian crossing on the approach road to the drop off area that will be closed in the next few weeks and replaced by a bridge.
3) Why is there only one ground crew operating the entire turnaround? Sorry, ground crew plus the dispatcher? We were delayed last week on the ground because there was nobody to marshal us onto stand, then delayed for the steps, then delayed for ground crew to set up the PIG... then delayed for assistance for 2 WCs!
No idea
4) Why is the baggage reclaim empty of staff? As we walked through after that flight above, we were stopped by several pax who complained that the bags had not come out yet and had been waiting 20 minutes! No-one from Menzies or Luton to be seen!
Maybe that is the cost of cheap fares. The airlines want the cheapest handling costs and by cutting staff numbers you reduce costs although I think there are always vacancies for the handling companies but they have a high rate of staff turnover due to low wages.