It is indeed hard to feel any positive vibes coming out of the airport. The future feels as bleak as it did 7 weeks ago, maybe more so. With TUI announcing 8,000 worldwide job cuts and with its UK HQ just a mile away and a hangar at the airport I cannot see how Luton will not feel even more pain in the coming weeks.

The airport has cut costs and has even put signs up that if anyone ventures onto the multi-storey car park roofs they will need a torch at night as the lighting has been switched off. This from an airport that was using electrical outside heaters a couple of months ago to keep the smokers toasty except they never made a difference.

Despite this, the terminal is open 24/7 with I think 4 flights a week arriving in the early hours. I would have thought Wizz could have changed flight times to a more passenger and airport friendly schedule when for instance their Tel Aviv flights are the only use of that aircraft for that day.

No car park busses either, which is another reason why I won’t be back for a while, as it makes a reasonable walk from home a very long walk. Even when the buses start again I would be a reluctant passenger and this is the airports dilemma. Everyday the public will be doing their own risk assessments and flying will be seen as a risky business for a long time to come for many.

April Stats
 

Total passengers 14,017, down 99.1%
Total capacity 37,928, down 97.9%
Load factor 37%
Year to date 2,933,278, down 43.7%
Rolling 12 month total 15,725,730, down 8.2%

Your rolling 12m figure is 10m pax out :-)

latest drone footage of DART

Thanks LTNman for the construction update
This video was obviously taken a few weeks ago as your photos supersede some sections

Comparing the artist impression with the construction update, as previously suspected, there appears to be a major part of the station building missing. Drawings show 2 phases but whether that is for a station capacity upgrade for a second terminal or is needed for the current construction so the bridge sections could be built on site and lowered into position remains to be seen.

It has already been noted in previous construction updates that the existing building has no holes between the floors for lifts, stairs and escalators so I suspect there is another section of building due to be built this year.

Another question is what are those two steel towers for? Are they being built there to be moved later? Answers on a post card to ...
https://i.imgur.com/7ySoY2v.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/GvtoGUc.jpg

Todays Wizzair flight to TFS was cancelled last night after the Spanish Authorities designated Gran Canaria as the sole airport in the Canaries allowed to accept international arrivals. Subsequently TFS complained, the authorities back tracked on their decision and will now allow TFS to accept international arrivals. Too late to reinstate the flight. P*ss up and Brewery spring to mind ......

Might be old news but Blue Air is now only bookable to Romania, which seems to restart July 1st.

https://www.london-luton.co.uk/getme...ueair-new.aspx 0B9191Bucharest-Otopeni 12:20 Estimated 12:05 Due today

I saw that but I think it might be a charter as there is no return leg. The website says they are not operating flights until July but they will do charter flights.

Departs back to Bucharest at 13:05 as BLA9190

I think it must be a charter - this is not one of the normal flight numbers used.

I didn't realise the local council were reliant on the airport for their day to day funding...

Just watching Look East and mentioned how Luton Borough Council were expecting a £16 million payment dividend, which the airport has now withdrawn from paying due to the current situation. The council are now threatening cutbacks to local services.

I can now see why the airport rubs up neighbouring councils the wrong way, by not being a beneficiary of this money too!

It is alot more complicated than that! Who owns the airport?!

Remember who owns 2/3 of MAG as well, that will be a loss of £100m for Manchester Council's ?

Then you got West Midlands Councils owning 49% of Brum, that will be a loss in dividends for them as well.

The missing dividend is only part of the story, the other bit they are keeping quiet about.

The council own 100% of the airport via its airport company London Luton Airport Ltd. LLAL fund many of its projects by taking out loans from the council. As the council has no money they then borrow the money themselves. The airport dividend to the council would be substantially more if it wasn’t for the interest payments on around £330m of debt. Not only can LLAL not pay a dividend they don’t seem to be able to pay the interest payments either meaning the council will now have to pick up the bill.

The Dart is a classic example of how the council spends money. As the airport reached capacity without the Dart it is only needed for an expanded airport. Expansion is not guaranteed so the Dart has to be seen as a project just for the existing terminal. The airport operator LLAOL has refused to put money into the project while the airport passengers are not paying for it either in the form of a levy. This leaves the council taxpayer to fund it except they will not benefit from the Dart.

There is also the Terminal 2 access road. This is costed at £124 million and the council want to build it before they know the outcome of any government decision on airport expansion. This time the council will fund it themselves rather than lend the money to LLAL as it is more tax efficient.

The pie chart for council income shows the airport dividend to be 10% of the councils budget but they are now claiming lost revenue from the airport is actually costing the council 38% of its budget.

While the airport has indeed been a good income stream for the council the council could now end up in special measures because of the airport as it hadn’t diversified its commercial activities.

Air Albania's A319 was in again yesterday; it seems to have been a regular visitor over recent weeks. Presumably it's carrying freight?

It has been reported here before that the flights carry deported Albanian criminals home and used to fly into Stansted.

How do you know they are criminals?

I don't but that what was reported by a Stansted guy on here when it was mentioned before.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...herts-52726983

Stand by for a shafting all those living in Luton!

When does T2 open..........

https://www.luton.gov.uk/Council_gov...ts-2018-19.pdf

Page 38 states the council has group reserves of over a billion pounds and single reserves of over £600m. The problem for the council taxpayer is that the council does not want to touch their reserves. Also they are predicting a year of no passengers so they can screw the general taxpayer for even more money.

It's a repatriation flight organised by the Albanian Government

Group reserves I am guessing include physical assets, like an airport, or is it held as cash?

Council Audit Statements are a little strange to the untrained eye. Ok the usable reserves can be called upon but once they are gone, they are gone! ie Sell your house to get cash but it can only be done once, might not be considered wise long term. The councils (along with many other councils) aim is to get additional funding from central government to tied them over without significant drawndown on reserves. Short term this could involve a reduction of services or increases in local tax, but that would not be good at the ballot boxes!

OK. Council reserves cannot be used for day to day operations except in a small shortfall in some operational costs e.g. uninsured loss of a flooded building or extra costs for CYP or ACS. It cannot be generally budgeted for except for a small amount such as a couple of million. The reserves can also be money held by the council for other parties, so while they show on balance sheets, they are not council money. Also, money borrowed to use on a project will be shown there so while it looks good it is also spoken for much as if you borrow money to pay for an extension, your bank balance goes up. A lot of rules apply to how councils can spend their money which is why they have a section 151 officer who has a legal duty to ensure that these rules are followed.

So it's not all just sat in an account waiting to be spent.

Luton Runway Designator Change
 

From the 21st May 2020 a reminder that the Luton runway designation will become 25 and 07.

Keep up chap, been discussed a few times, most recently here https://www.pprune.org/10782107-post3832.html

I knew it was this month but had forgotten the day. Would have thought they could have done it during the day.

Paint dries too quickly in the sun.......sorry

June 15th EasyJet to resume a flight programme.
 

Can anyone confirm that EasyJet will be operating from LTN on the 15th of June?

http://BBC News - Coronavirus: EasyJ...iness-52751791
Doesn't specifically say which airports though

Yes pabely, that is why I used the word reminder, simple innit!

Nothing from Luton, only the following airports will get a domestic services:
Bristol, Birmingham, Gatwick, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Belfast.

Gatwick will also start a Nice service

Flew over the 26 threshold on Tuesday and there was just 2 on the eastern threshold.

Just gone down to B&Q to get another can of paint.......not a lot of money in the kitty these days !!!!

Easy from 15 June
 

UK

• Belfast-Birmingham
• Belfast-Bristol
• Belfast-Edinburgh
• Belfast-Glasgow
• Belfast-London Gatwick
• Belfast-Liverpool
• Belfast-Newcastle
• Birmingham-Belfast
• Bristol-Belfast
• Edinburgh-Belfast
• Edinburgh-London Gatwick
• Glasgow-Belfast
• Glasgow-London Gatwick
• Inverness-London Gatwick
• Isle of Man-London Gatwick
• Isle of Man-Liverpool
• London Gatwick-Belfast
• London Gatwick-Edinburgh
• London Gatwick-Glasgow
• London Gatwick-Inverness
• London Gatwick-Isle of Man
• London Gatwick-Nice
• Liverpool-Belfast
• Liverpool-Isle of Man
• Newcastle-Belfast

France

• Bordeaux-Lyon
• Bordeaux-Nice
• Paris Charles de Gaulle-Nice
• Paris Charles de Gaulle-Toulouse
• Lille-Nice
• Lyon-Bordeaux
• Lyon-Nantes
• Nice-Bordeaux
• Nice-Paris Charles de Gaulle
• Nice-London Gatwick
• Nice-Lille
• Nice-Nantes
• Nice-Toulouse
• Nice-Geneva
• Nantes-Lyon
• Nantes-Nice
• Toulouse-Paris Charles de Gaulle
• Toulouse-Nice

Switzerland

• Geneva-Porto
• Geneva-Barcelona
• Geneva-Lisbon
• Geneva-Nice

Spain

• Barcelona-Geneva

Portugal

• Porto-Geneva
• Lisbon-Geneva

• Isle of Man-London Gatwick
• Isle of Man-Liverpool

IOM Gov said no today, unless hospital transfers or key approved workers.These are no way filling Loganairs currently running to Liverpool & Manchester from IOM and 14 day self isolation must take place in residence not currently occupied on arrival. Maybe rules may change by that date but pay your money and risk cancelled flight is more likely.

Nothing from Luton as EasyJet’s preference is and always has been Gatwick. If cutbacks are made in the future to Easyjet’s London services there is already a hint who the winner will be.

Early days, never on the cards that all bases would start at once. Some of the Gatwick routes are very thin per week. Probally do it all with just 2 planes.

Signs are that the likes of Signature are expecting a big rebound as people who can afford it, look to distance themselves from other pax!

Confirmed by a worker that Gulfsteam will retain just a man in a van at Luton when they move to Farnborough. There was a rumour that they would retain some sort of mini base at Luton.

The issue for Signature is that its passengers are governed by the same restrictions as everyone else. There was a story circulating at Signature that while the American crew of a biz jet could fly Luton to the good old USA the British owner of the jet could not.

Could have sworn that at 0300 today there was a post by LTNman foretelling of bad news concerning LLA to be revealed this morning.

Did I miss it? Was I dreaming? Do tell.

;)