Also on the boards for today is the first Sun Express - if it appears.

One appeared last night from Izmir, so I guess the flight tonight is likely, Presume start of their summer programme.

Looks like 23 departures before 9 tomorrow!

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/pe...0-jobs-2902044


A 70% drop would mean 5,400,000 passengers by year end, which is hard to believe seeing the airport had 2,919,261 passengers by March of this year

But how many passengers did the airport have in April, May and June?

Probably not much more than 100k. Pax numbers down circa 98% on last year. Beginning to creep up but from a very low base. A 60-70% YOY reduction is very possible. I hope things quickly improve for the staff's sake.

2,967,441 to May but the airport was handling no flights in parts of April and generally 4 departures for the rest of the days. Today there are just under 100 scheduled services. If the report is correct, from June 1st onwards the remaining months would generate a shade over 400,000 per month.

Looking at July 1st to December 31st at 100 aircraft a day that would give an average load of 133 passengers per aircraft if my poor maths are correct. Of course as the movements increase the passenger average will drop.

Construction update
 

The Dart Parkway interchange is being glazed.
https://i.imgur.com/frNqVCy.jpg

The railway platform footbridge is isolated from the interchange and waits for the missing section of station to be built.
https://i.imgur.com/WlGgnl3.jpg

The missing gap is being used for assembling various parts of the footbridge that are then lowered into place. On the extreme left can be seen one of the platform staircases being built while a lift shaft can be seen in the foreground.
https://i.imgur.com/x7yBUfw.jpg

Taxiway Bravo has reopened with the diversion seen behind it.
https://i.imgur.com/UDsC8qj.jpg

Escalators have been installed at the terminal station.
https://i.imgur.com/rbyAWrW.jpg

The ticket office seems to be a very substantial affair so maybe it has another purpose. This whole area will be covered by a canopy.
https://i.imgur.com/o9oSkfV.jpg

Covid 19
 

Passengers are no longer in short supply at Luton. For once the terminal was a nice place to be with plenty of space per passenger.
https://i.imgur.com/LUfR5FP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0fWYF51.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/I8g69Bw.jpg

Dont know if it helps but a few dummy bookings for next day flights on Ryanair last couple of days (mostly STN) suggest average pax of around 70ish, some higher some lower. Assuming that will grow over coming weeks and months 133 probably isn’t a bad estimate

https://www.tekla.com/uk/bim-awards/luton-dart-stations

Appears the DART stations have been winning awards for design and construction

When announced the the project was costed at £200m, it then became £225m with the latest figure at £243m. All funded by the towns residents who won't get to use it.

Anyone else notice that the gap between the roof and the walls at Parkway interchange? Passengers will be wondering how the rain is getting in.

I don't know, but would it have not been a fixed price contract? Thought the DART was £200m Parkway Interchange £25m.
Then these things might be priced in Dollars so that will have an effect and then there will be additional costs due to CV-19. All written down in a contract between supplier & purchaser, unless you are saying it was a poorly written contact where supplier can increase costs to be picked up by purchaser?

Good to see you following Government advice there LTNman https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavi...at-the-airport

LTNman works at the airport so no issues there unlike some troublesome reporters, at least he was not in Soho last night!

Out of interest there are no signs on the doors about passengers only in the terminal and I doubt most people would dig out the link from my greatest fan.

The Council removes seating from the town centre as it is a Covid risk being enclosed but they are more than happy that 230 passengers sit inches apart on council property aboard a Wizz aircraft. This is the hypocrisy and double standards we live with. https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/en...centre-2873163

https://i.imgur.com/Sbe6TGk.jpg

Nothing to do with Council what goes on aboard an airplane.
Government guidelines updated on 30th June say "The question of whether any organisation should open (or reopen) is a business decision for the individual organisation. Aerodrome operators, training organisations and other GAbusinesses are best placed to decide whether opening is in their best interest, either from a commercial or health and safety standpoint."
aka a Pagoda takes up alot of space for no financial gain and reduces distancing by people walking around it. I have always seen them as a pain for emergency services as well getting access to shopfronts and just a magnet for groups of people who have no business in the shopping area anyhow.

Now that the Dart at Parkway is taking shape I thought I would look at the drawings I have regarding the missing 33% of the station. So far the building has 4 central support columns but the drawings show 6 which would allow the new Thameslink platform walkway to join with the rest of the building. The missing section is from the top of the escalators.
https://i.imgur.com/PaVc4KI.jpg

Looking at this drawing, which is a reverse view from the plans above and below, the missing section is highlighted in mauve and is shown as a later phase, which I have mentioned before. I have assumed the later phase would immediately follow the first phase.
https://i.imgur.com/1m9fVuE.jpg

I am now thinking this won't be built any time soon, as there are more plans that show a 4 column station with lifts and a staircase attached to the end where the missing section of station should be. In the plan with the mauve section there seems to be a walkway from the existing footbridge to the interchange.
https://i.imgur.com/pVGIg3j.jpg.

Back in 2017 the planning application for the Dart building at Parkway requested full planning permission for the non-mauve area and outline planning permission for the mauve bits including the footbridge. Could it be that the mauve bits are being funded by Railtrack as £25m seems a great deal of money for a footbridge and was more than 10% of the total budget when announced? This would make sense as the missing ground floor section is a new station building with forecourt (as seen in the artist impression) that will be used by passengers accessing and leaving the new developments being built next to the station who want to use the train. Also the drawing shows the building named as Luton Parkway Station with no mention of the word Dart, which is the same name as the station on the other side of the tracks.

It is a good point about who is respectability for which parts (and is paying for it)
https://www.railway-technology.com/p...ransit-london/

Could explain differences in costs on what some people say the WHOLE project costs or just the DART part.