LUTON -8
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With the 'coming' new rules that are going to influence the outcomes of revised airspace applications and routes, it could well be a few years until the LTMA is capable of delivering traffic to three Heathow runways, let alone de-restricting traffic into and out of Luton and Stansted. The London Airspace Master Plan (LAMP) is going to take years and years to implement, if it ever does! Until then Luton, Stansted and Northolt face restrictions caused by delivering flights in and out of Heathrow. Nothing has changed really since the 1980s, only the traffic volumes at Luton and Stansted!
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Thomson will resume the Dalaman service in 2018. A really underserved router at LTN compared to other airports. Flight is on the Monday evening and looks as if it will come in from either Funchal or Gran Canaria. Looking at the Thomson timetable it seems that there is more room for more flights. Possibly even some W from other airport and using the 2 aircraft to the max that they can do.
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Very true, I can remember the air ambulance landed and then reading about it in the local rag. After the initial report there was no further news so I was quite shocked to read this today.
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25 million
Headline reads "Luton Airport plans further growth to 25 million passengers within 10 years"
Luton Airport plans passenger expansion - St Albans and Harpenden News - Herts Advertiser
Luton Airport plans passenger expansion - St Albans and Harpenden News - Herts Advertiser
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That beggars the question where would it go unless the business park at Wigmore is part one of getting the residents used to the idea that their park will be going before mentioning expanding the airport.
Weren't Alitalia rumoured to be moving their Heathrow ops to Luton? Anyone know the reason for the charter or could this potentially be a form of route proving/testing for them?
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Hardly a well utilised Park and the only location it could go.
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While many of us may gasp at 25 million passengers passing through Luton by 2025, I suppose it is inevitable the airport will be planning for these sort of numbers by then!
To achieve the 25 million mark, it "only" requires a yearly growth of 6.5% a year until 2025.
6.5% growth per annum sounds very modest/tame, compared to growth in past recent years! Below is what this looks like on an annual basis.
I suppose once the airport reaches 20 million by around 2020/21(ish), growth cannot grind to a standstill... Also Luton and Stansted by that time will be the only places in the London area where any significant air travel growth can take place.
It all just boils down to how the "little airport on top of the hill" wishes to plan and play this game. It also depends on how deep the airports pockets are, and how long the arms are, on the person reaching into those pockets!
To increase the terminal capacity by a further five million, isn't going to require a whole lot more space and remember this is Luton who does things on the cheap!
One idea could be to literally fill the whole CTA with an expanded terminal and shft reliance of dropping passengers off outside the terminal to a new area and shift the strain on to this new mass-transit system that will be running by then and expanded to cope... The terminal could be expanded south and a new pier could be built where the exisiting multi-storey is, and looking at how cr@p the construction of that is, there is no way that will still be standing by 2025!
Also they could put in an apron on the otherside of the taxiway, with a Gatwick Airport style bridge over the taxiway, from the current pier.
To achieve the 25 million mark, it "only" requires a yearly growth of 6.5% a year until 2025.
6.5% growth per annum sounds very modest/tame, compared to growth in past recent years! Below is what this looks like on an annual basis.
I suppose once the airport reaches 20 million by around 2020/21(ish), growth cannot grind to a standstill... Also Luton and Stansted by that time will be the only places in the London area where any significant air travel growth can take place.
It all just boils down to how the "little airport on top of the hill" wishes to plan and play this game. It also depends on how deep the airports pockets are, and how long the arms are, on the person reaching into those pockets!
To increase the terminal capacity by a further five million, isn't going to require a whole lot more space and remember this is Luton who does things on the cheap!
One idea could be to literally fill the whole CTA with an expanded terminal and shft reliance of dropping passengers off outside the terminal to a new area and shift the strain on to this new mass-transit system that will be running by then and expanded to cope... The terminal could be expanded south and a new pier could be built where the exisiting multi-storey is, and looking at how cr@p the construction of that is, there is no way that will still be standing by 2025!
Also they could put in an apron on the otherside of the taxiway, with a Gatwick Airport style bridge over the taxiway, from the current pier.
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To increase the terminal capacity by a further five million, isn't going to require a whole lot more space and remember this is Luton who does things on the cheap!
With the CTA now finished and the dual carriageway fully functioning it was good to see how well it coped tonight with the mere 15.5 million passengers it is now handling.
Taken at around 6:20 tonight, at a time that an airport spokesman claimed on the radio that everything is hunky dory. As seen the airport suffers congestion at other times as well.
I had plenty of time to frame this shot, as the bus I was on could not exit the roundabout. Note the unfenced overflow priority car park where cars are taken to by airport staff.
With the Holiday Inn roundabout at a standstill traffic leaving the airport was also at a standstill caused by traffic trying to turn right.
As reported a million times here much of the problem is caused by this but there are other factors that also slow the traffic up. Hard to believe this site will soon be a station which will allow the airport to try again!
With buses in the distance trapped by queuing cars for the exit barriers and trapped in the foreground by cars trying to get into the DOZ queue to use any form of public transport can be time consuming.
Due to an infrequent service due to congestion this is the queue for the long term car park. The bus seen was just about full so these passengers got left behind.
Lets just say 25 million will be a challenge just like 18 million will be.
Last edited by LTNman; 5th Aug 2017 at 05:05.
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Superb pictures and commentary again LTNman.
With most of the road alterations completed at great expense, perhaps time to pause and resolve the deficiencies when planning the next round of work.
1. Lack of terminal and parking stand capacity - construct a terminal extension and 8 parking stands in the area currently used as the set-down area and short-stay car park.
This would see aircraft parking stands on the other side of the new pier and construction of a third pier giving access to the South stands.
2. Relocate short-term car park to a large multi-story car park to be built on land in the current mid-term car park, adjacent to a new DART transit station giving 1-stop access to the CTA. Thus reducing traffic entering the CTA with access to the new car park from the Holiday Inn Express roundabout.
3. Existing multi-storey car park would become pick-up and set-down area, taxi rank, priority and disabled parking only. So only this traffic, together with traffic entering the bus station would enter the CTA.
4. DART transit link should be built below ground with surface access between existing multi-storey and bus station with only 2 stops to Luton Airport Parkway.
5. DART transit link should extend beyond the CTA under taxiway D to provide a 1-stop link to a newly expanded Long/Mid-Term car park. Removing need for bus transfers and replacing some car park space lost in the current mid-term car park.
6. Car Park currently used by TUI staff adjacent to the Council Tidy Tip to be returned to airport use either for staff car park or car hire, connected by shuttle bus to CTA.
7. TUI to build a new car park with sufficient spaces for all their staff on park land, adjacent to their HQ building.
More terminal capacity, 8 more parking stands, more car parking spaces, less traffic entering the CTA and extensive use of the DART transit system.
AENA has many attractively planted airports in Spain, in what are arguably more arid and hostile climatic environments. So why are customers queuing to access the CTA treated to a weed infested roundabout, adjacent to the Holiday Inn Express ?
With most of the road alterations completed at great expense, perhaps time to pause and resolve the deficiencies when planning the next round of work.
1. Lack of terminal and parking stand capacity - construct a terminal extension and 8 parking stands in the area currently used as the set-down area and short-stay car park.
This would see aircraft parking stands on the other side of the new pier and construction of a third pier giving access to the South stands.
2. Relocate short-term car park to a large multi-story car park to be built on land in the current mid-term car park, adjacent to a new DART transit station giving 1-stop access to the CTA. Thus reducing traffic entering the CTA with access to the new car park from the Holiday Inn Express roundabout.
3. Existing multi-storey car park would become pick-up and set-down area, taxi rank, priority and disabled parking only. So only this traffic, together with traffic entering the bus station would enter the CTA.
4. DART transit link should be built below ground with surface access between existing multi-storey and bus station with only 2 stops to Luton Airport Parkway.
5. DART transit link should extend beyond the CTA under taxiway D to provide a 1-stop link to a newly expanded Long/Mid-Term car park. Removing need for bus transfers and replacing some car park space lost in the current mid-term car park.
6. Car Park currently used by TUI staff adjacent to the Council Tidy Tip to be returned to airport use either for staff car park or car hire, connected by shuttle bus to CTA.
7. TUI to build a new car park with sufficient spaces for all their staff on park land, adjacent to their HQ building.
More terminal capacity, 8 more parking stands, more car parking spaces, less traffic entering the CTA and extensive use of the DART transit system.
AENA has many attractively planted airports in Spain, in what are arguably more arid and hostile climatic environments. So why are customers queuing to access the CTA treated to a weed infested roundabout, adjacent to the Holiday Inn Express ?
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Don't get me going on the condition of that roundabout. The weeds were so high a week ago that it was blocking my view of traffic coming around the roundabout. It would have taken a month for a heard of goats to have gotten through that lot.
I took my camera to take a photo and would you believe it, it had just been cut that morning for the first time in a year. The roundabout is actually owned by the council rather than the airport and every year must be the worst looking roundabout in the U.K as no one looks after it and it has never been seeded with grass.
The central reservations of the new dual carriageway are also pure new weeds with not a single blade of grass either so next year it will be a matching set when the weeds mature.
As you say Anea airports in Spain have attractive roads leading to them but not here in Luton.
This goes back to my previous point that no one in charge of running the airport has any pride in its appearance. The passenger footbridge to the multi-storey was opened in a rush last year and was never cleaned by the builder before being handed over. 8 months later and with the builder gone the bridge still has mortar splashes up the steelwork and thick grime on all surfaces that passenger see when using the bridge.
I took my camera to take a photo and would you believe it, it had just been cut that morning for the first time in a year. The roundabout is actually owned by the council rather than the airport and every year must be the worst looking roundabout in the U.K as no one looks after it and it has never been seeded with grass.
The central reservations of the new dual carriageway are also pure new weeds with not a single blade of grass either so next year it will be a matching set when the weeds mature.
As you say Anea airports in Spain have attractive roads leading to them but not here in Luton.
This goes back to my previous point that no one in charge of running the airport has any pride in its appearance. The passenger footbridge to the multi-storey was opened in a rush last year and was never cleaned by the builder before being handed over. 8 months later and with the builder gone the bridge still has mortar splashes up the steelwork and thick grime on all surfaces that passenger see when using the bridge.
Last edited by LTNman; 5th Aug 2017 at 04:52.
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For those with long memories, for a short while maybe around 1990(edit 2000) easyjet wanted to build its own terminal in the mid term car park. The plan might have lacked detailed consideration considering the car park is located on rising ground but the route for the DART splits this useful area in two, as the track will sit in a trough rather than making it a few feet deeper and letting it sit in a tunnel.
Red=tunnel
Brown=trough
Red=tunnel
Brown=trough
Last edited by LTNman; 5th Aug 2017 at 11:03.