Luton-9

[BlueA330]

Confirmed Amsterdam terminated.
Considering what a good route this was do you think another carrier will take up this route now Level has gone ?

[LTNman]

Wizz would give Easyjet a challenge.

[pabely]

Wizz would give Easyjet a challenge.
AMS is very slot restricted, can't see IAG giving those up. Probably increase frequency on another member of the IAG Group.

[pabely]

There also appears to be a legal despite with the airport operator who is claiming force majeure to get out of contractual obligations. Apparently that will also have a further financial impact on the Council.
Can't see AENA walking away from the LLAO deal, long term good money to be made, just some normal business hard bargaining going on.

[LTNman]

They indeed won't walk away but they don't want to pay the guaranteed minimum payments to LLAL regardless of the passenger count claiming force majeure which is written into the contract.

[LTNman]

It gets better, potential outdoor cinema for one of the airport car parks. Council in discussions with third party. Every little helps I guess.

[LGS6753]

From Blue Swan:

Aena (https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/investor/aena-aeropuertos-sa-enaire) CEO Maurici Lucena reported the company plans to develop a new incentive scheme in 2020/2021 to encourage air traffic resumption post COVID-19 (El Espanol/Europa Press/Reuters, 18-Jun-2020). The scheme includes reductions in charges for airlines exceeding a certain threshold of movements, adjusted monthly according to traffic forecasts. Airlines are expected to benefit by around EUR25 million from the incentive programme.

I wonder if this will affect Luton as Aena are a principal in LLAOL.

[LGS6753]

Blue Air re-starting both Bacau and Bucharest x5 pw from 2nd July.

[pabely]

And EZY next week https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/06/25/easyjet-to-operate-500-flights-per-day-from-next-week/

[davidjohnson6]

Wizzair show zero availability for the following routes from Luton after 19 July
Kosice, Poprad-Tatry

[davidjohnson6]

Confirmation from ACL, in case it was needed, that FlyBosnia won't be flying to Luton in winter 2020/21
Ryanair seem to have been granted slots for a 3x weekly to Valencia - no idea if they'll actually use them

[Falcon666]

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x2000/68b9bfda_657f_4909_90cb_8602657215c4_c7467b27d49c7ac49f0fe27 4973f26df216a3b37.jpeg
Short but sweet list
but doesn’t include new Wizz routes to Canary Islands , Marrakesh , Bacau etc

[Cloud1]

Out of interest how would one be able to see these lists? I had a look on the ACL website but couldn’t find anything up to date. Lots of screenshots being shared on other forum threads and it is a really interesting source of info.

[Falcon666]

Out of interest how would one be able to see these lists? I had a look on the ACL website but couldn’t find anything up to date. Lots of screenshots being shared on other forum threads and it is a really interesting source of info.

Hi Cloud1
If it helps I went via the ACL Main Page , select “ Latest Airport News “ from the top of the Page , scroll down to Results pdf files.
Select which pdf you want. ie “ Luton Airport W20 Initial Coordination Report “
Press and hold on selected file then select Download linked file from drop down box . (I use a I Pad )

[pabely]

Things starting to recover on the VVIP operators now, up to 51 movements on Thursday after hovering arounds 30+ for a few weeks now. Obviously if lockdown eases more then those chaps/chapesses will be able to go to their second homes in Ibiza, Mykonos & Cote d'Azur.
Obvoiusly this is about 50% of pre COVID ops but with runway slots not an issue currently we could see a mini surge this summer.

[LTNman]

I am starting to think that Luton might be heading for a faster than expected recovery. 24 airline movements tomorrow between 6:00 and 8:00. Easyjet seem to be consolidating their north London operations to Luton and both Wizz and Easyjet have announced new Luton routes.

Is the Council painting a darker picture than reality as it tries to screw the government for free money?

[compton3bravo]

With the resumption of the F1 season this weekend in Austria a mini airlift started today with a TUI Belgian 737-800, a JOTA 146. Tomorrow sees an Aurigny E195 all operating to Graz plus a number of executive aircraft.

[pabely]

Is the Council painting a darker than reality as it tries to screw the government for free money?
Wouldn't be good business sense not to.
With EZY restarting tomorrow things looking much better but will there be bums on seats?

[pabely]

I wouldn't have expected the likes of RYR Kerry route returning so soon but it has tomorrow.

[Captain_Caveman]

I wouldn't have expected the likes of RYR Kerry route returning so soon but it has tomorrow.

the Kerry route is a cash cow in a normal summer, it’s more popular than the STN route and can be pretty pricey. It’s back at a reduced service until end of August then it ramps up from memory. I’ve never seen it less than 75% full in about fifty flights over the last couple of years.

[LGS6753]

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

[Teaboy24]

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.

[pabely]

Looks like 23 departures before 9 tomorrow!

[LTNman]

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/hammer-blow-luton-airport-proposes-cut-250-jobs-2902044


By the end of this year, it is anticipated that passenger traffic at the airport will be down 70% compared to 2019.

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

[1sky]

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/people/hammer-blow-luton-airport-proposes-cut-250-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?

[avidspotter]

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.

[LTNman]

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.

[LTNman]

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

[LTNman]

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

[AirportPlanner1]

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. Or course as the movements increase the passenger average will drop.

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

[Falcon666]

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

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

[LTNman]

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.

[pabely]

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.

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?

[avidspotter]

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
Good to see you following Government advice there LTNman https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-air-travel-guidance-for-passengers#arriving-at-the-airport

[pabely]

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

[LTNman]

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/environment/bye-bye-pagodas-oriental-style-seating-removed-luton-town-centre-2873163

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

[pabely]

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/environment/bye-bye-pagodas-oriental-style-seating-removed-luton-town-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 GA businesses 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.

[LTNman]

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.

[Spanish eyes]

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.

[pabely]

It is a good point about who is respectability for which parts (and is paying for it)
https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/luton-direct-air-rail-transit-london/

Network Rail is responsible for the development of a passenger footbridge and upgrades at Parkway station.
Could explain differences in costs on what some people say the WHOLE project costs or just the DART part.

[davidjohnson6]

Blue Air has requested court protection from creditors... we can all guess what this means
Blue Air have 3 routes from Luton - Bacau, Bucharest and Iasi. Luton has 6 other airlines besides Blue Air

[AndrewH52]

Not necessarily what you might think. It appears that it is a form of voluntary agreement with creditors which gives the airline 18 months to restructure before it has to start repaying and money it owes. One would hope that as they resume flying and start to generate revenues again the situation will improve for them.

[LTNman]

Seems that El Al has retreated from Luton and didn’t even get to start their new Stansted service. Doing random flight searches to Tel Aviv they are only bookable from Heathrow now although even Heathrow does not seem to be bookable until September 1st. Also the airline looks like it is being taken over by the state again.

This will be a blow to the airport as ElAl was the only full fares airline to operate flights to Luton and further reduces the airlines that use Luton for scheduled services to the fingers of one hand. On the other hand there is just TUI.

[dc9-32]

I think you'll find EL AL has suspend ALL it's flights and not just those to/from LTN/STN.

[pamann]

I’m pretty sure that I’ve read somewhere too that Tui have pulled all flights from Luton this summer?

[LTNman]

I think you'll find EL AL has suspend ALL it's flights and not just those to/from LTN/STN.

Yes I know but I went on to say that bookings can be made from Heathrow from September 1st but not Luton or Stansted.

[FRatSTN]

It's only for the rest of the season at least at this stage. LTN back on sale from 26th October.

[LGS6753]

From Travel Mole:

Wizz Air confirmed today that it will launch six new flights from London to Greece in mid July in anticipation of the Greek authorities lifting a ban on flights from the UK.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has exempted Greece from its advice against all non-essential international travel and holidaymakers returning from Greece won't need to quarantine in the UK from July 10. But the Greek authorities have banned flights from the UK until July 15.
Wizz will launch flights from Luton to Athens and Crete on July 16, followed by flights to Corfu on July 18 and to Zante, Rhodes and Thessaloniki on July 19.

[pabely]

Blue Air resumed ops but more detail about Creditor protection https://www.romania-insider.com/blue-air-preinsolvency-procedures
Lets hope they make it through before Wizzair take all the market

[LGS6753]

Upbeat email from Blue Air this morning:More good news from Blue Air

Please find out that during all this period we have modernized and updated our IT infrastructure in order to be able to offer you prompt and quality services. All passengers who bought tickets directly from the Blue Air website and who were affected by the cancellations caused by the restrictive measures, benefited from full refunds, transferring the amounts related to the tickets purchased in the Blue Wallet. For more details about Blue Wallet and other information about vouchers, where and when they can be used please click here (https://email.blueair.aero/click.html?x=a62e&lc=XXe&mc=q&s=LtRF&u=P&z=vnpzLBa&).
We went through difficult moments, but now things are on the path of a new normality and we thank you for being with us with patience and understanding all this time. To ensure the smooth resumption of scheduled flights and the fulfillment of all obligations to its passengers, employees and partners, Blue Air Aviation S.A. resorted to the preventive composition procedure. This will allow us to honor all our commitments to you and we hope to remain your favorite airline company.

Yes, we are once again up and running! For you.
Did you miss Europe? Now you can fly again to UK, Spain, Italy and Belgium. Considering the lifting of travel restrictions to UK, Spain, Italy and Belgium, Blue Air announces the resumption of scheduled flights to most of its traditional destinations. Starting Tuesday, July 7, 2020, the company announces that the flight schedule includes over 250 flights per week in the next period and it is fully operational.

Therefore, starting today, the destinations covered by Blue Air are:

From Bucharest Otopeni Airport: Belgium (Brussels), Cyprus (Larnaca), Denmark (Copenhagen), Finland (Helsinki), France (Paris Beauvais, Lyon, Nice), Germany (Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart), Ireland (Dublin), Italy (Florence, Milan Malpensa, Naples), Great Britain (Liverpool, London Luton), Romania (Cluj, Iași), Spain (Malaga, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca), Sweden (Stockholm). From Bacau airport: Belgium (Brussels), Italy (Bergamo, Rome, Turin), Ireland (Dublin), Great Britain (London Luton) From Iasi airport: Romania (Bucharest), Belgium (Brussels), France (Paris Beauvais), Germany (Cologne, Munich), Italy (Turin), Great Britain (London Luton) From Cluj airport: Ireland (Dublin), Romania (Bucharest) From Sibiu airport: Germany (Stuttgart) Domestic flights from the Blue Air base in Turin: Alghero, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Naples, Trapani Regional flights from the Blue Air base in Larnaca: Athens, Thessaloniki

[Spanish eyes]

If you believe everything you read. Plenty of companies talk up their prospects and then disappear. The thing to note is that they can't give people cash refunds only vouchers and have admitted they would go bust if they did.

[pamann]

If Blue Air did disappear LTN would be down to just four airlines this summer 😳

Possibly the fewest number of airlines the airport has seen in over 30 years?

[LGS6753]

I'm sure 5 operators is the least the airport has seen in summer since the 1960s. Even then, there were Britannia, Autair, Monarch and BMA together with sundry other charter operators.

[LTNman]

I'm sure 5 operators is the least the airport has seen in summer since the 1960s. Even then, there were Britannia, Autair, Monarch and BMA together with sundry other charter operators.

Dan Air had a base at Luton with the Comet and 1-11 but the list was long depending on the year including Invicta Vanguard’s and Altair with their Caravelle’s. Now we don’t even have a variant of aircraft types.

[22/04]

In 62/63 probably only three real operators -Euravia, Autair and Derby?

[davidjohnson6]

In 1962, Luton had 42,186 pax.
To put it another way, more people passed through Luton on an average day in 2019 than all of 1962

[compton3bravo]

There was also Debonair in the mid-late 1990s. I was on the inaugural service. We all turned up and did not know where we going - bring your passport they said. All the hacks including me met up in the terminal and discussed where we were flying to - Copenhagen, Munich maybe Barcelona, no Newcastle ( no disrespect to Newcastle). Oh b****r or words 5o that effect rang round the terminal. The landing back at Luton could only be described as an arrival!

[LTNman]

I think the last new Luton based airline was Silverjet if we don't count Wizz UK but no doubt someone will correct me.

[LGS6753]

Dan Air had a base at Luton with the Comet and 1-11

I think Dan Air arrived in 1969 with two 1-11s, 'CK and 'CP. The Comets came a year or two later.

[pabely]

12 Wizzair sheduled arrivals between 7:20 & 8:30 today, getting back to old times. Along with departures must be getting close to runway capacity again!

[davidjohnson6]

How busy are those Wizz flights ?

Yes, I know yield matters too, but LF is easy to estimate by observation

[LTNman]

Most of Easyjet is still parked up but I have no doubt a blacker picture is being painted at Luton by the council than will be the case over a 12 month period, as it seeks a government bailout. While the Council is making £50m of savings with every part of the council untouched they still intend to spend another £60m on the airport this year although they have little choice. As they say, they are a special case with an airport to subsidise.

[dc9-32]

How soon will it be that Luton becomes another lockdown town.......

[LTNman]

Well it is on the cards as Luton is in the top 20. If it did happen it would mean the airport would be under pressure from some to close as it is inside the towns boundary and has a LU2 post code which is the same as all the local housing. The advice for Leicester is that people don't go there unless it is essential. I can't see a holiday via Luton in Spain as essential.

In Serbia the locals are rioting as cases of Coronavirus grow. I wonder how many got it from the UK.https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8503323/Serbias-president-U-turns-plan-reinstate-coronavirus-lockdown-thousands-protested.html

Other parts of the poorer Eastern EU nations are suffering the same fate with migrants and workers bring the infections back

[Lee Baker Street]

Well it is on the cards as Luton is in the top 20. If it did happen it would mean the airport would be under pressure from some to close as it is inside the towns boundary and has a LU2 post code which is the same as all the local housing. The advice for Leicester is that people don't go there unless it is essential. I can't see a holiday via Luton in Spain as essential.

In Serbia the locals are rioting as cases of Coronavirus grow. I wonder how many got it from the UK.https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8503323/Serbias-president-U-turns-plan-reinstate-coronavirus-lockdown-thousands-protested.html

Other parts of the poorer Eastern EU nations are suffering the same fate with migrants and workers bring the infections back

Serbia is a hot spot for Chinese visitors so to ‘suggest’ the UK and with emphasis on LTN might be responsible for its outbreak; just might be unfounded!

[LTNman]

Ltn is just one route of many connecting Serbia with Europe although I think European migrant hostels are the source of many of their problems.

During these quiet times there has been some interesting traffic pass overhead. Apart microlights a Spitfire passed over a few days ago and a DC3 plus a selection of light aircraft.

[LGS6753]

I understand that the Spitfire was the one with NHS titles, that flew over various airfields on the 72nd anniversary of the NHS.

[cj241101]

I think Dan Air arrived in 1969 with two 1-11s, 'CK and 'CP. The Comets came a year or two later.
The first Dan Air Comet started ops just ahead of the first of the 1-11's. G-APDO 29th March 1969; first 1-11 was G-AXCP which arrived 3rd April 1969. 1970 actually had very few Comet flights in the summer but they were back in 1971.

Airline counts (regular for peak summer), excluding cargo operators:-
1967 - 7
1968 - 6
1969 - 8
1970 - 8
1971 - 12

[pabely]

Looks like the Parkway experiance will get worse before it gets better https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/transport/network-rail-begins-vital-lift-improvements-luton-parkway-train-station-2908646

[LTNman]

Quite often the escalators within the station building don't work but I have always found the staircases to be in working order.

The lifts in the new multi story didn't work for months as they were not finished. Initially the airport employed people to carry passengers suitcases but that idea was soon abandoned.

[pabely]

How soon will it be that Luton becomes another lockdown town.......
Same for Harlow & Bishops Stortford then as STN now exceeds LTN in pax movements once again?

[LGS6753]

Wizzair starting Bacau daily from 29th Oct 20. That will worry Blue Air.

[pabely]

Wizzair starting Bacau daily from 29th Oct 20. That will worry Blue Air.
Is that the last route they already don't compete with from Luton to Romania?

[LGS6753]

Bacau is Wizz's 11th destination in Romania from Luton. Blue Air now fly LTN-Bucharest, Iasi & Bacau.

[davidjohnson6]

Bacau:
Blue Air fly to
Bergamo, Brussels-BRU, Dublin, Luton, Rome-FCO and Turin

Wizz will fly to
Bergamo, Brussels-CRL, Luton, Rome-FCO, Turin and 7 other destinations

Bacau has no airlines apart from Blue Air and Wizzair

Iasi:
Blue Air fly to
Barcelona, Beauvais, Brussels-BRU, Bucharest, Cologne, Luton, Munich, Rome-FCO, Verona and Turin

Wizz fly (or will fly shortly) to
Barcelona, Beauvais, Brussels-CRL, Dortmund (near Cologne), Luton, Rome-FCO, Verona, Turin and 10 other destinations
Tarom fly to Bucharest

Combined with Blue Air this week seeking court protection from creditors, I think Blue Air have a lot of big problems to resolve

[pabely]

63 Biz movements at Luton yesterday, long weekends in Med via travel corridors kicking in?

[LTNman]

Harrods reopened at the beginning of May. I don’t think Signature ever closed. Much better to take a business jet than sit next to a potentially disease ridden individual from Harlow in Essex who doesn’t intend to cancel a week in Benidorm when him and his mates are meant to be in self isolation.

[pabely]

A little more Fuel for you LTNman https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/local-transport-today/news/66138/luton-council-hit-by-airport-s-covid-19-financial-troubles/

[LTNman]

The story is an indictment of the risks the council has taken and how it has all gone wrong. London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL) was set up in 1998 as the owner of the airport and the collector of airport income. Risks and investments were carried by the airport operating company (LLAOL) for a 33 year concession agreement, which ends in 2031, including passenger targets to reach and investment in airport expansion to 18m passengers.

Now the roles have been reversed. LLAL, which was meant to be a zero risk company with no debt and no staff, has borrowed hundreds of millions of pounds from the Council who borrowed the money themselves for pre expansion work while the airport operator won't put in a penny including chipping into the Dart project. The bottom line is that LLAL would be bankrupt, as it can't afford its interest payments to the Council and the extra money required for the Dart, without a Council bailout. The bailout this years is £60m and next years is forecast to be £23m.

It doesn't end there as the existing bus service between the airport and the terminal is part of the Thameslink franchise so is at no cost to LLAOL, LLAL or the Council. This is why it has run everyday despite the airport having no passengers on some days. From next year LLAL will be paying the shortfall in income from the Dart, as there will be a contract in place with the company providing the trains for maintenance and staff costs worth millions plus a £243m bill to pay off in easy instalments. No wonder the airport operator did not want to know.

[SWBKCB]

So LLAOL gets a bailout from the council to pay the interest on the money it has borrowed from the council? :eek:

[LTNman]

Not quite. LLAL rather than LLAOL gets a bailout from the council to pay the interest on the money it has borrowed from the council.

It has been reported in the press that the chairman of the board of directors of LLAL who is a councillor is also the finance portfolio holder of the Council so will be asking himself for the money. It was also reported that residents will be paying an airport stealth tax from next year if they want all their bins emptied.

[Mr Optimistic]

Wasn't it also reported that Luton has applied for emergency funding from the government? It seems they crowed about avoiding 'austerity' owing to the airport revenue but are now positioning themselves to blame the government when their plan fails. Seems rather like a country which allowed itself to become over dependent on oil revenues being tanked when oil prices fell and they had done nothing to mitigate the clear risk. Perhaps Luton is the new Venezuela ?

[LTNman]

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/politics/council-lashes-out-governments-claim-ps1126m-emergency-funding-was-enough-luton-2900579

The above report states that the Council has already been given £11.26m of emergency funding by the Government but they want another £50m to bail out their airport. Let us all remember LLAL was set up as a zero risk company but the Council got greedy and went on a spending spree with borrowed money. Now it is the governments fault where the truth is it is all the Council's fault.

There is a full Council meeting tonight where zombie councillors will ask no questions, as they are devoid of independent thought and will vote the new budget through after taking turns to once again blame the government. They will blame the government because they will believe what the Council leaders are telling them.

Maybe the Board of Directors of LLAL who are all councillors should resign but they won't. They will be in the chamber tonight voting through the budget. Conflicts of interest won't bother them as it is standard practice to vote on airport matters.

[davidjohnson6]

I'm aware that Wizz has been one of the more aggressive airlines in trying to restart large numbers of flights. Does anyone have a rough idea of what sort of loads they have been seeing in/out of Luton in the last week or two since operations largely restarted ? 10 % load factor ? 50 % ? Higher ?

[LTNman]

87.6 passengers per flight for June

[LTNman]

Passengers 61,969 down 96% from 1,674,161 last year
Year to date 3,029,410 down 64% from 8,518,550
Rolling 12 months 12,510,829 down 28% from 17,376,461

[pabely]

Airport CEO said he expected 70% less pax for full year 2020 so as more capacity comes online I suspect things will look better later in the year. Obvoiusly subject to pax appitite to travel.

[Dannyboy39]

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/politics/council-lashes-out-governments-claim-ps1126m-emergency-funding-was-enough-luton-2900579

The above report states that the Council has already been given £11.26m of emergency funding by the Government but they want another £50m to bail out their airport. Let us all remember LLAL was set up as a zero risk company but the Council got greedy and went on a spending spree with borrowed money. Now it is the governments fault where the truth is it is all the Council's fault.

There is a full Council meeting tonight where zombie councillors will ask no questions, as they are devoid of independent thought and will vote the new budget through after taking turns to once again blame the government. They will blame the government because they will believe what the Council leaders are telling them.

Maybe the Board of Directors of LLAL who are all councillors should resign but they won't. They will be in the chamber tonight voting through the budget. Conflicts of interest won't bother them as it is standard practice to vote on airport matters.
I know it is fashionable to blame local government, especially the aforementioned poster, but some points as I understand...
1. In 2010, council funding was around £120-£130m a year from central government.
2. In 2020, council funding was around £10m from central government.
3. Central government encourages councils across the U.K. to look for commercial means to raise funds. Meaning that if there are any economic shocks, local government are in the firing line when they are already 90% down in funding from 2010 levels.
4. LBC have the advantage of having a key national asset in their constituency. It has enabled council tax levels to remain lower than others such as Central Beds, but to raise funds there is no mechanism to increase these above assigned national caps that have already been used this year.
5. Lots of other councils are in the same position.

[LTNman]

Band D Council tax

£1,894 Bedford
£1,872 North Herts
£1,850 Luton
£1,828 Stevenage
£1,809 St Albans
£1,392 Tower Hamlets
£1,236 Kensington and Chelsea

The Council says that Luton's council tax would be £370 more if it wasn't for the airport taking band D Luton to £2220.
Makes you wonder how they spend their money when everywhere else is below £1900. Ahh yes funding Carnivals and trying to get City status. Meanwhile in my part of Luton the library was shut, the community centre lost its funding, the playing fields and sports pavilion were closed.

Government cuts to Luton certainly played a major part but I have to wonder if the Government sees the Council with an income source why not cut back their own funding.

[lutonboi]

Wizz air announce more new routes from Luton

Luton to Valencia 3x weekly
Luton to Ibiza 4x weekly
Luton to Alicante daily
Luton to Santorini 2x weekly
Luton to Mahon 3x weekly

Malaga also increasing to twice daily several times a week

[LTNman]

For the first time in months I saw 3 aircraft queuing for take off today with a string of arrivals.

[Mr Optimistic]

Band D Council tax

£1,894 Bedford
£1,872 North Herts
£1,850 Luton
£1,828 Stevenage
£1,809 St Albans
£1,392 Tower Hamlets
£1,236 Kensington and Chelsea

The Council says that Luton's council tax would be £370 more if it wasn't for the airport taking band D Luton to £2220.
Makes you wonder how they spend their money when everywhere else is below £1900. Ahh yes funding Carnivals and trying to get City status. Meanwhile in my part of Luton the library was shut, the community centre lost its funding, the playing fields and sports pavilion were closed.

Government cuts to Luton certainly played a major part but I have to wonder if the Government sees the Council with an income source why not cut back their own funding.

They could also have used their advantage to build up some reserves just in case the future wasn't as helpful as the past. Still, they didn't go into commercial real estate did they?

[LTNman]

Well LLAL owns plenty of buildings of all shape and sizes at the airport that are let or empty. They then spent £19m buying a farm and its land and also bought the land surrounding the Dart station at Parkway for future development of a multi story car park and offices. The farmland has now been abandoned and is growing no crops and is full of thistles. The farmhouse, which was listed, has been knocked down this year as the roof had fell in.

[Buster the Bear]

New route for Wizz with no doubt start up assistance from the airport?

[LTNman]

More like the Council that used to offer rebates to the airport operator. This is mentioned in the airport operators accounts.

[LGS6753]

Wizzair

With the addition of the new routes from 7/8th August, a further aircraft will be added to the base.

[toledoashley]

Wizzair

With the addition of the new routes from 7/8th August, a further aircraft will be added to the base.

I thought Luton was out of overnight stands?

[SeanM1997]

I thought Luton was out of overnight stands?

The overnight slot seems to have come from TUI for Summer 2020

[LTNman]

More importantly many of Luton's stands require a nice little ride in a standing room only coach, which makes an aircraft interior seem empty on a full flight.

[mariofly12]

Today that Easyjet uploaded its S21 schedule shouldn't they have uploaded their new enhanced flight programme out of LTN, the one we read about lastmonth, with new additions and increased frequencies? No sight of it...

[pabely]

Don't expect to see anything like the S19 program in S21 with EZY, yet alone any expansion in frequencies.
WUK on the other hand..... ..

[LTNman]

With new routes and frequencies at Luton from Wizz, desperate deals must have been done. The airport operator sees income from its drop off zones and parking as its saviour while no doubt giving away or even paying now for Wizz routes.

Is the Council now providing further money to LLAOL via LLAL for route subsidies as it has done in the past? What exactly will that £60m bailout fund be used for when every other part of the Council is being savaged? We know about the extra £18m for the Dart, the extra £5m for the DCO and the money to pay the interest on the loans LLAL cannot afford to pay back but is there money left over?

LLAL has said there will be no dividend to the Council next year either and that they require a further £23m bailout money for that year. Do they have a crystal ball that no one else can see?

No LLAOL spending on the final taxiway link to runway 25 for at least the next 3 years and the same applies to the new stands. Also there is a big battle taking place regarding force majeure clauses regarding Covid 19. It is going to cost LLAL or LLAOL millions for whoever loses for what could be a legal battle.

[LGS6753]

143 passenger movements yesterday. The number is slowly increasing (it was running at around 120 last week). Anyone know what the pre-Covid figure was?

[Level bust]

Does anyone know what easy are doing about Amsterdam from Luton. I'm supposed to be going for the day on the 12th August, but no longer feel the need to go! The only way I can get a refund is if they cancel my flight. I can change it to another date but if have to do it 14 days before hand and not have to pay to change it, which you have to do within the 14 days.

[davidjohnson6]

If you are booked to fly from Luton to Amsterdam on 12 August at either 0925 or 1615, then your flight will likely go ahead. The Dutch have largely removed quarantine restrictions for UK residents

[Level bust]

I'm booked on a later flight, wasn't sure if it was operating and it was sold out or it wasn't operating. Thanks David.

[toledoashley]

Today that Easyjet uploaded its S21 schedule shouldn't they have uploaded their new enhanced flight programme out of LTN, the one we read about lastmonth, with new additions and increased frequencies? No sight of it...

When easyJet release seats for the following season, it tends to be a replication of the previous year - minus any they don't intend to operate. Usually around November, they add all the new additions.

[LTNman]

143 passenger movements yesterday. The number is slowly increasing (it was running at around 120 last week). Anyone know what the pre-Covid figure was?

348 passenger flights a day in July 2019. Most of Easyjet is still laid up

[Yahoo!®]

348 passenger flights a day in July 2019. Most of Easyjet is still laid up
guessing you’re a glass half empty fella?

[LGS6753]

guessing you’re a glass half empty fella?

It's a fair comment when referring to the Airport's largest operator, with around 25 aircraft based!

[LTNman]

Depends on the definition used to describe Luton’s largest operator.

[LGS6753]

Depends on the definition used to describe Luton’s largest operator.

By now, I suppose that should read "formerly Luton's largest operator".....

[pabely]

Gradually more from EZY restarting, Aberdeen, Inverness, Zurich & Jersey. I suspect they are looking very closely at demand on future bookings rather than adding flights and hoping.
Is WZZ really filling 3x Sofia a day?

Hasn't RYR actually scaled back from their initial 1000 flights a day across all Europe statement?

[pabely]

I thought Luton was out of overnight stands?
That might not be an issue soon if currently parked up frames are ferried somewhere else which is cheaper.

[1sky]

Gradually more from EZY restarting, Aberdeen, Inverness, Zurich & Jersey. I suspect they are looking very closely at demand on future bookings rather than adding flights and hoping.
Is WZZ really filling 3x Sofia a day?

Hasn't RYR actually scaled back from their initial 1000 flights a day across all Europe statement?

You would be surprised about WZZ. Lots of full flights to SOF and VAR (a bit less so in the opposite direction).

[Spanish eyes]

Well that’s not great is it with no social distancing possible. Social distancing has never been practiced at Luton Airport anyway so nothing has changed. The airport does have magic clear gels called hand sanitizer that protects everyone and everything so they have done their bit whether used or not.

Got your own sanitizers? Don’t bother as they will be taken off you by security as it is considered a security risk so no wiping down the arms of your aircraft seat so take a paper version.

Cases of Corona are on the rise in Luton so is a cause for concern. More of a concern is that the government has handed the power of lockdown to the local authority. At work we have already commented that the only place in town that will never be locked down is the towns airport.

Top tip, never ever get in a taxi at the airports taxi rank.

Also don’t use any independent valet parking companies at Luton unless you have your car chemically deep cleaned before use. Even the airport run valet parking should be considered risky as well as the whole airport experience.

Second wave coming? Absolutely and it is only a matter of weeks away.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Spanish eyes, only 34 more cases over the weekend, that is over 100 in less than two weeks, so it won't be long before the airport is at a standstill again, or countries refusing to admit anyone that has been within Luton.

[Lee Baker Street]

Well that’s not great is it with no social distancing possible. Social distancing has never been practiced at Luton Airport anyway so nothing has changed. The airport does have magic clear gels called hand sanitizer that protects everyone and everything so they have done their bit whether used or not.

Got your own sanitizers? Don’t bother as they will be taken off you by security as it is considered a security risk so no wiping down the arms of your aircraft seat so take a paper version.

Cases of Corona are on the rise in Luton so is a cause for concern. More of a concern is that the government has handed the power of lockdown to the local authority. At work we have already commented that the only place in town that will never be locked down is the towns airport.

Top tip, never ever get in a taxi at the airports taxi rank.

Also don’t use any independent valet parking companies at Luton unless you have your car chemically deep cleaned before use. Even the airport run valet parking should be considered risky as well as the whole airport experience.

Second wave coming? Absolutely and it is only a matter of weeks away.
If you consider that Luton ranks 26th place in the UK in terms of population then it can be expected to have a significant figure in terms of COVID-19 infections. However we have less infections per 100 than Bedford and according to other data it appears St Albans City is worse which suggests Luton is safer of the three!

My household has only key workers so all of us have worked throughout this pandemic and guess what? We all commute by train and equally we all go to supermarkets and we wear face masks and have a regime of washing our hands regularly. For you to suggest Luton is spreading the virus is ridiculous and unfounded!

[Spanish eyes]

Don’t know where you get your information from but Luton is ranked at number 5 for cases adjusted for population size but I can see is much lower than Blackburn this week. Next week could be a different story so complacency is never a good thing.

The hotspots seem to be associated with the Asian communities which is why I would never use a taxi from the airports taxi rank.

https://news.sky.com/story/englands-top-10-covid-hotspots-as-blackburn-overtakes-leicester-12032643

[Captain_Caveman]

Don’t know where you get your information from but Luton is ranked at number 5 for cases adjusted for population size but I can see is much lower than Blackburn this week. Next week could be a different story so complacency is never a good thing.

The hotspots seem to be associated with the Asian communities which is why I would never use a taxi from the airports taxi rank.

https://news.sky.com/story/englands-top-10-covid-hotspots-as-blackburn-overtakes-leicester-12032643

here comes the casual racism again that pops up on this thread from time to time.

where is your proof that the hotspots in Luton are the Asian community ??
My wife is a nurse at the local hospital and they cannot see a clear pattern to the people who enter icu apart from mostly older and more likely to have lower immune systems for whatever reason, the five hotspot areas in Luton are not all linked to the areas where people from our Asian community traditionally live.

next you will be telling us that you are quite happy to get in a taxi with a white Anglo Saxon driver.
I realise this is a rumour network but don’t let the Lack of any facts get in the way of some casual racism.

[Buster the Bear]

LU4 postcode is the hotspot.

[LTNman]

LU4 includes the towns hospital but maybe this is a bit more disturbing

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2020-07-21/coronavirus-deaths-in-the-anglia-region-continue-to-fall-but-stay-home-warning-in-luton



In Luton, the weekly number of new cases reported has doubled in the past fortnight promoting the town's Director of Health to issue specific "stay at home" advice.


Cases are up and down like a yo-yo but with hotspots now developing in Spanish tourist areas and in some Eastern European countries I am not aware of any temperature checks for inbound passengers.

[LTNman]

The council has balanced its budget but doesn’t mention that the only part of council spending to rise is the £60m bailout for the airport.
https://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/luton-airport-affects-council-emergency-budget-1-6750039

[Spanish eyes]

here comes the casual racism again that pops up on this thread from time to time.

where is your proof that the hotspots in Luton are the Asian community ??
My wife is a nurse at the local hospital and they cannot see a clear pattern to the people who enter icu apart from mostly older and more likely to have lower immune systems for whatever reason, the five hotspot areas in Luton are not all linked to the areas where people from our Asian community traditionally live.

next you will be telling us that you are quite happy to get in a taxi with a white Anglo Saxon driver.
I realise this is a rumour network but don’t let the Lack of any facts get in the way of some casual racism.

The proof including the post codes of the streets which is centred around Bury Park. Nothing to do with racist comments but facts. You are correct I would rather travel in a taxi being driven by a white Anglo Saxon driver but there are none at the airport’s taxi rank which is why I would never use an airport taxi.

The taxi drivers are self employed so I wonder how many would actually stop work if tested positive when there were no airport taxis for 3 months.
https://i.imgur.com/E4by2JT.jpg

[pabely]

Just for clarity, the Luton areas are Kingsway, Warden Hill, Challney, Lewsey South and Bedford areas, Elstow, Shortstown & Wixams.
A big mix of demographics & ethnic groupings.

On a seperate note EZY shedules continue to expand over the coming weeks but nothing like needing the based 25 frames.

WZZ have 5 new routes starting to Spain & Greece in 2nd week of August

[LTNman]

Those areas affected, which seems to focus on parts of Luton, are not helped by those living in rented sheds at the bottom of gardens, which is common practice in parts of the town. Luton is a deprived town with low wages, part time and zero hour contracts, which is something the airport and the airlines encourage with contracts awarded to the lowest bidder.

More about a possable second lockdown for Luton below.

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/politics/second-coronavirus-lockdown-luton-real-possibility-after-spikes-parts-town-2921139

[Avgeek06]

easyJet launching JTR on 6Aug, a day before Wizz start flying! Finally easyJet seem to have grown a pair over the last few months!

[Dannyboy39]

Those areas affected, which seems to focus on parts of Luton, are not helped by those living in rented sheds at the bottom of gardens, which is common practice in parts of the town.
What a load of rubbish. I've seen no such thing and I lived in the town over 30 years...

[LTNman]

What a load of rubbish. I've seen no such thing and I lived in the town over 30 years...

Clearly you need educating then as the practice is widespread in the town. The photo is a screenshot of a random deprived area of Luton with a report below. I would also suggest that you look at google maps satellite view so you can see how widespread the problem is around parts of Luton.

Luton Borough Council has launched a new scheme to crack down on rogue landlords that rent out poorly managed or dangerous properties.

The Rogue Landlord Project was created alongside the Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service, the Luton Law Centre and the Luton Citizens Advice Bureau.

The council insists that rogue landlords will not be tolerated and offenders will be caught.

The scheme particularly focuses on:

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
Beds in sheds – substandard properties that are being used as homes without relevant permission.

Recently, 18 landlords have been prosecuted by Luton Council or served with prohibition orders, many resulting in large fines and criminal records. Beds in sheds and HMOs have been emptied and several investigations are ongoing.

Councillor Tom Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Housing at Luton Borough Council, says: “The Rogue Landlord Project is an integral part of ensuring that private housing in Luton is of a good standard. It is an important part of our enforcement policy and will help ensure that properties in Luton are safe and maintained to a good standard. If a HMO is poorly managed, tenants’ safety could be at risk.




https://i.imgur.com/H7FtA7X.jpg

[pabely]

Semi Lockdown https://Sky News: Coronavirus: Luton and Blackburn now 'areas of intervention' due to COVID-19 spikes. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-luton-and-blackburn-now-areas-of-intervention-due-to-covid-19-spikes-12034861

[pabely]

Back to the airport, the newly refurbished Aspire lounge at London Luton Airport is due to re-open on 4th August.

[compton3bravo]

Could we please get back to matters regarding the airport ie routes, airlines etc and not have a discussion on who might be living in a garden shed at the bottom of a garden, that is for another place - The Daily Fail, Torygraph or the British Medical Journal. Thank you.

[pabely]

Not shed news but an important archery for airport traffic https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/transport/latest-plans-unveiled-ps4m-vauxhall-way-dualling-project-2922090

[LTNman]

The road upgrade is part of the planning permission for 18m passengers. Only the first 200m is being completed as the council has no money to build the rest. To do the upgrade hundreds of mature trees would have to be cut down which has upset the locals.

[pabely]

easyJet launching JTR on 6Aug, a day before Wizz start flying! Finally easyJet seem to have grown a pair over the last few months!
Looking at the prices on this route there will be plenty if social distancing available on these flights!

[LTNman]

Competition can mean a potential profit for one airline becomes a loss for two. It will be a brave soul booking a holiday now.

[Yahoo!®]

Could we please get back to matters regarding the airport ie routes, airlines etc and not have a discussion on who might be living in a garden shed at the bottom of a garden, that is for another place - The Daily Fail, Torygraph or the British Medical Journal. Thank you.

He says making sly anti-right comments

[compton3bravo]

You may think that, but I couldn't possibly comment!

[Buster the Bear]

Wizzair Russian route re-start second week of August (or is that routes?)

[pabely]

Wizzair Russian route re-start second week of August (or is that routes?)
11th Moscow, St Petersburg 19th via booking engine but this says different https://simpleflying.com/wizz-air-russia-mid-august/

[pabely]

Gulfstreams new facility at Farnborough offically opened today but the press release says they will keep their presence at Luton but will this include the hanger or will that go back to Signature?

[LTNman]

They will keep a man in a van and that is it. The hangar will go back to Signature. The main issue is that the staff don’t want to relocate.

[LTNman]

Social distancing Luton style captured in this video clip.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/queue-chaos-luton-airport-holidaymakers-18672017

[The96er]

Social distancing Luton style captured in this video clip.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/queue-chaos-luton-airport-holidaymakers-18672017

So you’ve just come off a plane that you weren’t forced to go on in the first place in which you are sat just inches from other people and yet you complain about social distancing in the terminal ! - A non story.

[pabely]

So you’ve just come off a plane that you weren’t forced to go on in the first place in which you are sat just inches from other people and yet you complain about social distancing in the terminal ! - A non story.
Thank the Sun & Mirror for this non storey and all the local rags pick it up hours later.
I suppose other MAG airports are a shining beacon of how to do it!?

[pabely]

They will keep a man in a van and that is it. The hangar will go back to Signature. The main issue is that the staff don’t want to relocate.
Or can't, because of house price differences between Beds & Hants

[LTNman]

Thank the Sun & Mirror for this non storey and all the local rags pick it up hours later.
I suppose other MAG airports are a shining beacon of how to do it!?

It is not a non story. Airport management have made public statements that the airport is safe when it isn’t. The airport terminal in normal times can from memory handle around 4,500 passengers an hour. I have the exact figure somewhere but I can’t be bothered to dig it out. This figure hasn’t been reduced to reflect social distancing or safety and highlights the pitfalls and the risks passengers take when flying from being bussed out to stand to standing in long queues and then sitting in an aircraft with the engines off so the Hepa filters are doing nothing.

The issue is that despite a massive drop in passengers numbers flights still bunch up and arrive and depart at a similar time. The queue in this video gives the opportunity for the virus to spread. It is worth remembering this when people call it a non story.

[SWBKCB]

I suppose other MAG airports are a shining beacon of how to do it!?

How have MAG got dragged into this?

[Lee Baker Street]

It is not a non story. Airport management have made public statements that the airport is safe when it isn’t. The airport terminal in normal times can from memory handle around 4,500 passengers an hour. I have the exact figure somewhere but I can’t be bothered to dig it out. This figure hasn’t been reduced to reflect social distancing or safety and highlights the pitfalls and the risks passengers take when flying from being bussed out to stand to standing in long queues and then sitting in an aircraft with the engines off so the Hepa filters are doing nothing.

The issue is that despite a massive drop in passengers numbers flights still bunch up and arrive and depart at a similar time. The queue in this video gives the opportunity for the virus to spread. It is worth remembering this when people call it a non story.

Studies have found that a person coughing or sneezing or even simply talking can spread COVID-19 in the air up to a distance between 18 and 26 feet. In effect as long as individuals use face masks and wash their hands regularly they will greatly reduce the prospect of contracting the virus.

As a daily commuter on the trains I feel totally safe because I protect myself. I would feel safe in a terminal and safe in an aircraft.

The Press just love to dig at anything relating to Luton however the photos of the queue in the terminal do not cause me concern because it would be impracticable to keep our social distancing at 26 feet!

[Spanish eyes]

The actions of Government, business and society will all influence whether there will be a second wave. Activities at Luton don't help nor do the actions of some members of the town council who attend parties in the most contagious part of the town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5fanzjwc8

[avidspotter]

Total click bait. "Chaos" and "Mayhem" (as the headlines suggest) it is certainly not. A small queue by Border Force standards. In any case passengers have just spent two hours or more on the same plane together. Bigger queues at Asda.

[pabely]

This implies more than just a man & van to be retained at Luton https://www.globalatlanta.com/gulfstream-continues-to-grow-london-presence-with-new-service-center/

[boeing_eng]

It would certainly make sense for Gulfstream to keep some sort of facility at LTN to accommodate the AOG work etc that Farnborough won't be able to accept given its restricted operating hours......

[LTNman]

I have a contact at Gulfstream. Around 6 weeks go they said they was taking redundancy. I was also told Gulfstream were leaving a man and a van on site and that they were vacating the hangar, which was going back to Signature. There was a major issue getting staff to move though. I have no idea whether plans have changed due to a lack of Farnborough engineers and that they will keep a bigger workforce at Luton until the problem is resolved.

[Buster the Bear]

To complement the Farnborough site, Gulfstream’s FAST Field & Airborne Support Teams continue to maintain a presence at London Luton Airport for arrivals, departures and aircraft-on-ground (AOG) service.

[esscee]

Regarding the Gulfstream move, it is so easy for management to make a decision and not think the whole matter through. Might seem like only 50 miles ish but not being aware of the very high house prices near Farnborough but also the time it can take to drive the M1/M25/M3 shows how the workforce are viewed these days. Manpower is just an inconvenient cost unit per hour in management eyes.

[LTNman]

To complement the Farnborough site, Gulfstream’s FAST Field & Airborne Support Teams continue to maintain a presence at London Luton Airport for arrivals, departures and aircraft-on-ground (AOG) service.

As I said, a man in a van when you read this link

https://www.aviationpros.com/home/press-release/10390467/gulfstream-introduces-field-and-airborne-support-team-fast

[pabely]

Yes as that link shows the FAST team have been based at Luton for 9 years and will remain so. It was the guys who do the long term work in the hangar I was talking about. Very few are willing to move with the package offered by Gulfstream so might be retained for a while at Luton to keep existing contracts going. How this pans out long term we will see.

[Buster the Bear]

With engineers being removed from payroll by the airlines, if Gulfstream are will to pay the retraining required, I doubt if they will have problems recruiting, especially as the drive from some somewhere like Heathrow is not too bad. I'd wager that there are many that already live along the M3/M4 corridors?

[boeing_eng]

Gulfstream may well pick up some engineers who have been made redundant from elsewhere. However, it takes some time to train and type rate licensed engineers so it won't happen quickly and some work might be retained at LTN in the meantime....In my opinion this crisis will see many older engineers retiring early as there is a large number in the industry who are well over 50. The bean counters have always seen engineers as necessary evil's so terms and conditions will be almost impossible to maintain at pre-covid levels going forward (like many other airline departments).....Many older engineers started their careers in the Forces or with aircraft manufacturers (but both are no longer viable sources of well trained engineers for the airlines)

[LTNman]

Coronavirus might well have persuaded a few more engineers to move as their choice would be move of face long term unemployment.

Gulfstream wanted to remain at Luton but were stonewalled by LLAL who refused to offer them land for a new hangar and apron within the existing boundary, as it would have impacted the Councils expansion plans. Even under plans for a land grab of the local park there are no plans for new hangars there.

Aircraft maintenance has been on the decline for years at Luton. Signature at Luton stopped doing heavy maintenance years ago. Their new hangar by cargo has only car parking for around 10 cars, has no office space and was built just for parking aircraft out of the rain.

No company has replaced Monarch Engineering who had 3 hangars at one time leaving just Harrods, Easyjet and TUI.

One of Luton’s issues remains getting aircraft in and out of hangars as the hangar lines are often blocked with parked aircraft. The other issue is the cost of parking aircraft that are awaiting maintenance or have completed maintenance.

[SWBKCB]

Interesting priorities from the council if that is the case. Engineering jobs are normally described as the sort of well paid, skilled jobs councils are keen to attract - whereas the jobs created by handling low cost airlines...

[LTNman]

Photos taken yesterday.
Parkway Dart station is getting a roof which is free standing and not connected to the walls.
https://i.imgur.com/T6FFDac.jpg

View from across the railway tracks. Careful examination shows the two entry and exit points for the Dart trains
https://i.imgur.com/Tol4DWp.jpg

At Central Station the framework for the roof is being installed. The roof will match that of Parkway.
https://i.imgur.com/Osbcc58.jpg

The concrete building contains 2 lift shafts, a public staircase, a fire escape staircase and two tunnel vent shafts.
https://i.imgur.com/1XrwqGE.jpg

How it is meant to look with the second multi story car park missing
https://i.imgur.com/UpPS3lo.jpg

Work is under way to restore the original dual carriageway route with its junction with the bus station and taxi rank. As can be seen the steel sheeting that was holding the embankment in place has disappeared.
https://i.imgur.com/u003VLv.jpg

[LTNman]

Interesting priorities from the council if that is the case. Engineering jobs are normally described as the sort of well paid, skilled jobs councils are keen to attract - whereas the jobs created by handling low cost airlines...

The councils priority is making money and not creating well paid jobs. 3 new hangars are shown on expansion plans replacing the Easyjet academy and the other modern buildings south of President Way but that could be years away and might never be built. Gulfstream wanted land now with the obvious place next to the Harrods hangars. The Council said no as that land is meant to be an apron for a second terminal.

[boeing_eng]

LLAL's cram 'em in at all costs attitude has certainly led to the decline of heavy aircraft maintenance at LTN. I can't see any serious takers for the ex Monarch hangars as the parking restrictions already mentioned will prove too limiting. As it is, TUI have to wrangle with the airport on a daily basis during the busy hangar season to come up with a plan to shuffle aircraft around and deal with arrivals and departures.

Unfortunately the days of the hangar line being used virtually exclusively by Monarch and Britannia hangar aircraft with the odd cargo and ad-hoc aircraft are just a fond memory!:(

[davidjohnson6]

Should heavy maintenance really be done at a major passenger airport where space will almost certainly be very limited, or better to put a business that needs lots of room in a location where it can be found easily ?

Manston, your time has come... !

[esscee]

The problem with that theory - where do the engineers live that you need to do the work? Certainly not within close proximity to Manston!

[LTNman]

Well that's why Gulfstream went. Also under threat, which has receded now for a few years due to Covid is FBO's at Luton.

[pabely]

Medium term Luton FBOs are doing Ok, 80 Biz movements yesterday. On a normal F1 weekend they would have been turning business away to Oxford, Cranfield & Stansted. You can even get nighttime slots which would have been a no no pre covid.

[LTNman]

Think the nighttime ban on biz jets is meant to be still in force.

[pabely]

Best keep quiet about it then, no current NOTAM about it that I can find.
Is this not current then https://www.signatureflight.com/events/london-luton-airport-night-slots ?

[LTNman]

You are indeed correct as I have dug out the letter. I was told in March from the horses mouth that not only was there going to be no changes this year but also in future years.

Noise restrictions commencing Summer 20

In both 2018 and 2019, I wrote to you advising of operational restrictions that we had to put in place following a breach of our permitted night noise contour limit. I advised at the time that the restrictions would be in place for every subsequent Summer season.
I am writing to you today to update you on the restrictions that we plan to implement from 1st June 2020 and in light of the current challenges the industry is facing in relation to COVID- 19. Many of these restrictions were communicated at the S20 coordination committee on the 18th September 2019 and remain unchanged from previous seasons.
The following measures will be in place from 1st June 2020, and will be reviewed on a monthly basis across the summer season;
• A limit of 15 ad-hoc movements will be permitted per week from 1st June 2020. This restriction includes GA and Maintenance flights between 2200-0559 GMT
• No further night slots to be allocated to series flights 2200-0559 GMT 1st June – 30th September
• No re-scheduling of existing allocated slots from the day time 0600-2159 GMT into the night time 2200-0559 GMT 1st June – 30th September
• For the Summer 2020 season and all subsequent seasons no aircraft with a value greater than QC1 will be permitted to operate in the night-time period (although there are current exemptions for cargo aircraft containing essential supplies due to COVID-19)
• No new slot applications with an aircraft QC value greater than 0.5 will be permitted between 2200 – 0559 GMT
It is important for all operators to adhere to their slots, last summer we saw aircraft which were scheduled during the daytime period (0659-2159 GMT) and were actually operating during the night time period (2200-0559 GMT). If aircraft fail to adhere to slots this summer, we will be forced to implement a nighttime curfew during this period. We will continue to monitor this on a monthly basis and we will notify all operators if we need to implement this.
If you have any queries relating to the restrictions then please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the Flight Operations Team at ***********
Hopefully some of this additional flexibility with the night restrictions will support your businesses during this challenging time although we still have to be mindful that we must work within the legal limits that are attached to our planning approval.
Yours sincerely
****** ******* Operations Director
London Luton Airport Percival House Percival Way Luton LU2 9NU 19th May 2020

[pabely]

A limit of 15 ad-hoc movements will be permitted per week from 1st June 2020. This restriction includes GA and Maintenance flights between 2200-0559 GMT
Curtainly seems to be fully used.

[LGS6753]

Daily passenger movements have now crept up to 200-210. Wizz are starting more Greek routes this week, and resuming Russia later in August.

[pabely]

What will be more interesting is average load factors, it is great seeing more shedules but how full are the flights. It will be a long hard winter coming up soon.

[Spanish eyes]

Some flights are near full while others are almost empty so I am thinking well under 500,000 passengers this months. Even with so few passengers the airport has not been designed to handle even this amount so many social distancing measures have been discreetly removed in the middle of the night. The public urinals I use which had 50% taped off have been opened up. Many of the seating that is in sets of 4 have also had the tapped off areas removed. Passengers are being bussed to remote stands. Long closely packed queues form at border force otherwise passengers would be queuing on the aprons. In fact I can't think of a single area where the airport conforms to social distancing rules apart from proving sanitiser except that often runs out. What is happening is a ticking time bomb that is going to explode sooner rather than later with a second wave and Luton will have played its part.

[Buster the Bear]

2Excel Engineering at Lasham has recently struck a major 3 year contract with easyJet which will see heavy maintenance performed on their fleet in Hampshire. They are currently assisting with fleet disposals, but that will move on to heavy C Checks on the active fleet. Work that no doubt could have taken place in the empty hangars at Luton?

[pabely]

Have EZY ever done any heavy checks themselves, I don't remember? Usually cheapest outsourcing contract gets it. I think in this case fixed price contract, cost overruns contractors pay.
To setup such an operation at Luton would require, tooling , insurance , approval from caa , spares support , technical ie drawing office , structures dept , totally not possible. Boat has gone, receiver tried to sell ex MAEL on, no takers.

[asdf1234]

Some flights are near full while others are almost empty so I am thinking well under 500,000 passengers this months. Even with so few passengers the airport has not been designed to handle even this amount so many social distancing measures have been discreetly removed in the middle of the night. The public urinals I use which had 50% taped off have been opened up. Many of the seating that is in sets of 4 have also had the tapped off areas removed. Passengers are being bussed to remote stands. Long closely packed queues form at border force otherwise passengers would be queuing on the aprons. In fact I can't think of a single area where the airport conforms to social distancing rules apart from proving sanitiser except that often runs out. What is happening is a ticking time bomb that is going to explode sooner rather than later with a second wave and Luton will have played its part.
We all have to acknowledge that COVID-19 got to these shores via the airlines. That they will be responsible for the second wave is becoming more likely by the day.

[Lee Baker Street]

We all have to acknowledge that COVID-19 got to these shores via the airlines. That they will be responsible for the second wave is becoming more likely by the day.

The Plague killed 100s of millions of people throughout the World from the year 1347. I wonder what airlines were in existence back then!

[compton3bravo]

Regarding the night time movements I would have thought that it was the least of the airport authorities concerns at the moment. They will need all the landing fees they can get at the moment.

[asdf1234]

The Plague killed 100s of millions of people throughout the World from the year 1347. I wonder what airlines were in existence back then!
OK. I can answer that. There were no airlines in 1347. Glad to be of help to you. Now, back to 2020. A virus originating in China spread around the world because the airlines transported infected people from China across the globe, especially to London. Statement of fact, not opinion.

[LTNman]

I suppose when it is impossible to social distance on an aircraft why even try at the airport
https://i.imgur.com/7CTObD8.jpg

Actually the odd passenger does try.
https://i.imgur.com/B2cegxQ.jpg



Meanwhile the airports propaganda machine likes to paint a different picture. Note the guy puts his mask on and then walks away from the terminal. He goes to self check-in to check-in a carry on bag then goes to a closed security lane with no staff. Also all the staff members seen in the film are wearing masks while in reality most don’t. The other giveaway is that he is far to smart looking to be a passenger at Luton.
https://youtu.be/qqrqwXt4kqY

[Dannyboy39]

Flew through LTN for the first time in months about 10 days ago. I’d be lying if I said I was impressed with the way it was handled, both by WZZ and the airport.

-A perfect opportunity to social distance, yet everyone hoarded into two security lanes.
-Norhing open in the airport apart from Boots and a couple of eateries. Nothing landside.
-The incessant need for airlines to start boarding before an aircraft even arrives on the gate (this pandemic is the perfect opportunity to stop people standing at gate areas 45-60m before departure).
-No hand sanitizer on board, soap in the bathrooms only, despite mods being approved recently for the installation of them in cabins.
-A full service on board available inc alcohol, despite other airlines minimising this.
-Many people including airport staff not wearing their masks properly.
-Social distancing observed to a point in the queues, but busy flights still like a free for all.

[The96er]

Flew through LTN for the first time in months about 10 days ago. I’d be lying if I said I was impressed with the way it was handled, both by WZZ and the airport.

-A perfect opportunity to social distance, yet everyone hoarded into two security lanes.
-Norhing open in the airport apart from Boots and a couple of eateries. Nothing landside.
-The incessant need for airlines to start boarding before an aircraft even arrives on the gate (this pandemic is the perfect opportunity to stop people standing at gate areas 45-60m before departure).
-No hand sanitizer on board, soap in the bathrooms only, despite mods being approved recently for the installation of them in cabins.
-A full service on board available inc alcohol, despite other airlines minimising this.
-Many people including airport staff not wearing their masks properly.
-Social distancing observed to a point in the queues, but busy flights still like a free for all.

If these thing bother you, then DON'T fly !! - NO ONE is forcing anybody to fly.

[pabely]

Yes and was it essential travel or a jolly to the beach?

[LTNman]

Harsh words from The96er when someone is expressing an honest opinion.

[BA318]

What difference does it make? Both are allowed at the moment. It is currently these passengers on jollies which are keeping some airlines afloat. BA Cityflyer are only operating holiday routes.

Regarding the complaints, there is no problem with only having soap in bathrooms. It is better to wash your hands with soap and water than sanitize them. Nothing open other than a couple of eateries? most of the time there isn't anything else other than a World Duty Free shop anyway. Without the high spending asian tourists these shops will be the last to open.

As for alcohol sales onboard, very few are restricting it other than for their own cost cutting purposes - nearly all airlines continue to serve alcohol in business/first class.

[LGS6753]

most of the time there isn't anything else other than a World Duty Free shop anyway.

That may be true at present, but usually there is a range of shops open at Luton.

Without the high spending asian tourists these shops will be the last to open.

Not many Asian tourists at Luton..... no routes to Asia, unless you count Turkey (Asia Minor).

[pabely]

nearly all airlines continue to serve alcohol in business/first class
Who does that at Luton, LoCo central.

[LTNman]

A video has popped up on Youtube where someone has travelled out on seats 32a and 32b from Luton to Malaga via Wizz and travelled back on the same aircraft 8 days later in seats 33a and 33b. She has filmed on both legs of the flight what looks a can of coke spray that his hit the ceiling and questions whether the aircraft has had even one deep clean at Luton which is meant to happen nightly.

https://i.imgur.com/c01s5Jx.jpg

Video here. Watch from around 1:15 sec

https://youtu.be/wK0vMhGm-NA

The Wizz spin machine including video of their aircraft being cleaned including areas passengers would not normally touch.

https://youtu.be/npPQ_T-9uPw

Another Wizz BS claim

https://i.imgur.com/pFw9Ke5.jpg

The Luton reality including side by side queuing.
https://i.imgur.com/itkaWdw.jpg

Wizz BS video with plenty of passenger space
https://i.imgur.com/r29UzFy.png

The Luton outbound flight
https://i.imgur.com/kv0Yy89.png

[LTNman]

Unscientific I know but the airport seems quite busy. Mid term car park looks full, both multi stories well patronised. Long term car park reopened and quite high traffic volumes heading into and out of the airport.

[ClearLand08]

According to FL24 it looks like there were 19 easyJet first wave departures this morning

[pabely]

What is important is bums on seats though, I know one had only 15 pax outbound

[planedrive]

What is important is bums on seats though, I know one had only 15 pax outbound

Many destinations only started up again at the start of August. It's very similar to the normal start of the summer schedule when most 'leisure' routes operate full out and empty back. The opposite happens at the end of the season. The only difference here is that it's happening at the start of August rather than the start of April. Now if the government would lift their pointless quarantine restrictions from most of Spain/Portugal you'd see the loads higher again. Most destinations that don't have quarantine seem to be operating 90%+ outbound.

[Buster the Bear]

4,509 new COVID-19 cases in Spain on Friday. That trend has continued since early August, doubling each week. Pointless quarantine on the return from Spain? With the number asymptomatics carrying the virus, COVID Zero is just a dream. Try telling those that have spent the last 4 months in virtual hiding, that a quarantine is pointless.

[Spanish eyes]

The airlines are ignoring the Spanish situation and are carrying on regardless despite the government advice not to travel. Passengers definitely have a different mindset when travelling through Luton of virus what virus and so do the airlines and airport authority.

Practices have not changed of calling passengers to the gates even before the aircraft has arrived. Flights are not spread out evenly throughout the day to reduce peaks. Pre boarding waiting areas are still packed out with the overflow backing up on staircases. Remote stands are still being used using overcrowded buses. Boarding is done as quickly as possible.

On arrival back at Luton long queues form for border force and baggage belts share multiple flights while others are empty.

What I see everyday is a scandal of epic proportions of blatant non compliance of any social distancing requirements because it is not possible at Luton. The airlines and the airport like to paint a different picture with their interviews and social media videos but it is all lies.

As for the few passengers with concerns, they have no control of the situations they find themselves in as they are processed through the airport in an unsafe way. The photos of passengers boarding a Wizz flight a few posts back is the final stage of their airport experience where any inhibitions have been removed from their mindset by the very process of getting passengers to the plane.

[avidspotter]

May I politely suggest that rather than moaning on here, you report your very serious concerns to the airport authorities/CAA/Government/HSE etc etc. who might be able to do something about them.

I'm not having a go, but looking at some of your previous posts you don't seem to have a good word to say about LTN. Makes me wonder why you stick around if its so bad...?

And I must say there do seem to be far to many anti-airport posts these days and the thread feels like its lost the essence of what I used to enjoy reading..

The airlines are ignoring the Spanish situation and are carrying on regardless despite the government advice not to travel. Passengers definitely have a different mindset when travelling through Luton of virus what virus and so do the airlines and airport authority.

Practices have not changed of calling passengers to the gates even before the aircraft has arrived. Flights are not spread out evenly throughout the day to reduce peaks. Pre boarding waiting areas are still packed out with the overflow backing up on staircases. Remote stands are still being used using overcrowded buses. Boarding is done as quickly as possible.

On arrival back at Luton long queues form for border force and baggage belts share multiple flights while others are empty.

What I see everyday is a scandal of epic proportions of blatant non compliance of any social distancing requirements because it is not possible at Luton. The airlines and the airport like to paint a different picture with their interviews and social media videos but it is all lies.

As for the few passengers with concerns, they have no control of the situations they find themselves in as they are processed through the airport in an unsafe way. The photos of passengers boarding a Wizz flight a few posts back is the final stage of their airport experience where any inhibitions have been removed from their mindset by the very process of getting passengers to the plane.

[LTNman]

Luton is no different from most airports. Maybe the cracks are showing up here first but with limited space availability the choice is don’t fly or take a chance. The bigger issue is deception on the part of Wizz and LLAOL who give out the impression that they have the safety and well-being of passengers as their number one priority. It is actually their number 2 priority after making money.

Wizz don’t seem to do anything apart from asking passengers to wear masks. The airport operator has taken superficial measures that are compromised by staff and passengers but the terminal still has the same hourly flow rate as before.

Maybe both should just be honest and spell out the truth rather than the BS so people can make informed choices.

So what is more dangerous, flying on an aircraft out of Luton or visiting a pub? To be brutal I would say the pubs I visit feel safer and have more measures in place to ensure social distancing but a lot of people work at the airport. The airport is vital to the local community so maybe compromises have to take place. As for the Council enforcement teams and the airport police. They just look the other way.

[davidjohnson6]

Perhaps worth remembering that the people who have most to gain by Luton being open and Wizz operating are likely to be either shareholders or are senior management who are often working from a desk at home, neither of which tend to be present very often on flights between Luton and an arbitrary city in E.Europe
Without wishing to demean the appalling sacrifice suffered by millions in WW 1, there does seem to be an element of the generals in their chateau, sending orders to the privates on the front line

I suspect that if senior management of both airport and airlines were regularly spending time in the main departures/arrivals areas and also regularly sitting for 3 hour periods on an A320 holding 179 other pax, then the approach might be different

[esscee]

dj6, some good points well made.

[Manx]

So in between slating the airport and airlines for trying to save their businesses and the jobs of their employees which leads to lots of people in quite a small airport terminal complex, we now want to senior managers to needlessly and "regularly" walk around the airport terminal doing the job of the non-senior managerial team. Interesting take. Damned if they do...

I'm agree with avidspotter.

You'd sometimes be forgiven for thinking this might be the LADACAN message board

[davidjohnson6]

From what I recall, every senior manager at McDonalds has to spend one day per year on the kitchen floor, flipping burgers. Yes, people on $1m+ per year, shaking fries

I wouldn't expect senior management at Luton airport to be spending considerable amounts of time cleaning the toilets, but I would expect them to be on the customer-facing areas of the airport on a regular basis (even 1 hour per week would suffice) to see what's actually happening - and also be talking on a regular basis with the junior staff. Equally I would expect board level directors at an airline to be on a flight of their airline every now and again (e.g. every 3 months) - if only to remind themselves of how the company's product is delivered in the real world and see what could be done better. Simply by being visible to junior staff, the senior manager motivates the rest of the employees - i.e. lead from the front
Hiding away in the executive office suite usually leads to an out-of-touch manager who doesn't really understand their business. If a senior manager doesn't want to be on the notional shop floor because they're worried about health risks - then it's not suitable for the junior staff either

[inOban]

Absolutely correct. If senior managers sit in their offices they will only know what the middle managers tell them, and they will only know what the front line tell them, and they know that their career depends on telling their bosses what they want to hear.
All the best and most successful customer-focussed businesses ensure that the senior management have direct contact with the front line.

[compton3bravo]

Did anyone notice BlueAir operating a scheduled service from/to Suceava today in competition with Wizz, apparently four weekly. I cannot remember any announcement about the route but maybe I have been half asleep!

[pabely]

Temperary Bacau Airport Closure I suspect, but a few days early
"Following the decision of the Bacău International Airport Administration, regarding the temporary closure of the airport between August 15 and September 30, 2020 for carrying out modernization works, Blue Air is forced to transfer the planned flights to the airports in the region."

[22/04]

If senior managers sit in their offices they will only know what the middle managers tell them, and they will only know what the front line tell them, and they know that their career depends on telling their bosses what they want to hear.

Yep the old adage was "if you don't walk it you don't own it"

[LTNman]

Senior managers attend https://www.llacc.com/ meetings. They know exactly what is going on.

List of attendees of the last meeting here. https://www.llacc.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2020/05/LLACC-Minutes-20-Jan-20-Final-.pdf

The last meeting was held in July. Minutes are from Pre Covid January, as the April meeting was cancelled but they are now conducted online.

[LTNman]

While waiting for the July passenger figures I would be surprised if Luton hasn’t handled close to a million passengers in August based on the constant noise outside.

Another interesting YouTube video has appeared online of a passengers experience passing through Luton and travelling on the 14:40 Wizz flight to Rhodes, which was using an A321 and was full.

The airport seemed fine at that time of day but I noticed at the very end passengers were bussed to the terminal at Rhodes. Basically once the passenger join the queue for boarding at Luton until he reached the terminal at the other end there is no social distancing, which must carry a risk.

For those not familiar with Luton this is quite a good video to watch as it shows different parts of the airport.

Search for the link directly on Youtube for the HD version.

https://youtu.be/ZtqxyNTDq80

[Cloud1]

While waiting for the July passenger figures I would be surprised if Luton hasn’t handled close to a million passengers in August based on the constant noise outside.

Another interesting YouTube video has appeared online of a passengers experience passing through Luton and travelling on the 14:40 Wizz flight to Rhodes, which was using an A321 and was full.

The airport seemed fine at that time of day but I noticed at the very end passengers were bussed to the terminal at Rhodes. Basically once the passenger join the queue for boarding at Luton until he reached the terminal at the other end there is no social distancing, which must carry a risk.

For those not familiar with Luton this is quite a good video to watch as it shows different parts of the airport.

Search for the link directly on Youtube for the HD version.

https://youtu.be/ZtqxyNTDq80

It carries risk if people are not wearing face coverings because if they cough, sneeze or release fluid particles (which we do breathing anyway) then there is a small risk of that getting in to the eyes of someone stood nearby. The social distance allows those particles to fall. If however everyone is wearing face coverings the transmission is so low it is almost impossible as long as people don’t touch their masks and then touch their face. There is so much scaremongering with this at the moment but if people comply with basic guidance we can almost go about our business as usual.

The exceptions are places like cafes, restaurants, pubs etc where face coverings cannot be worn because of the purpose of that business.

[Buster the Bear]

Google Bedford Deep Dive. Recent spike there revealed working age people were contracting the virus.

People should be free to fly or travel wherever they like, but face a mandatory 14 day isolation on return. I think that is only fair on the rest of the UK population until a proven and effective vaccine is rolled out. I also think that the furlough scheme for the travel sector should roll through next winter.

[BHX5DME]

[QUOTE=LTNman;10858756]While waiting for the July passenger figures I would be surprised if Luton hasn’t handled close to a million passengers in August based on the constant noise outside.

Heathrow only handled 800,000 pax in July !
Luton appears to be the 'clear' winner in terms of getting numbers back but cant see July being more then 300,000 and August 400,000

[TBSC]

Senior managers attend https://www.llacc.com/ meetings. They know exactly what is going on.
Everyone familiar with aviation knew that the extra careful cleaning and the distancing (at the airport or on board an aircraft) is only PR bs. 24 people with covid was found on a Wizz Skopje-Turku flight on Saturday. According to media reports a guy with covid was working in Wizz's Budapest HQ for more than a week with symptoms (...), hospitalized, the staff is not even advised who it was. How on earth would they know who had close contact with him then? Yep cash is king.

[pabely]

A tad wet & thunderstormy at the moment, hope the buckets are out in the terminal!
Some holding starting on arrivals.

[pabely]

https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/14082020/passenger-numbers-down-by-74?ref=Home
Approx 465,000 pax for month.

[BHX5DME]

https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/14082020/passenger-numbers-down-by-74?ref=Home
Approx 465,000 pax for month.

Looks like Luton and Stansted's figures will be very similar and 2nd / 3rd to Heathrow in July

[LTNman]

Alberto Martin, CEO of LLA, said: “Seeing an increasing number of passengers passing through the airport safely is a rich reward for all the hard work and effort our teams have put in on the ground during this incredibly difficult period.

I am actually struggling to think what hard work and effort their teams have put in apart from adding a few sanitiser stations, putting in a few random floor markings, closing off some seating and adding a very short section of one way barriers that covers around 10% of the route from the drop off zone to the terminal.

His comment about passengers passing through the airport safely just don’t add up when there is no enforcement of social distancing breaches but then the airport does not have the space to allow for social distancing. It would be better to be upfront and admit deficiencies so potential passengers can make informed decisions.

The airports good fortune, if that is the right word, is that Wizz is the airports biggest operator.

[compton3bravo]

Personally I find it a bit disingenuous singling out Luton or any airport for that matter regarding social distancing. It seems to me that after the Cummings debacle most people said sod this for a lark. In my local area SD is very hit and miss and mostly miss. Last week I decided to have a meal out for the first time since March. The restaurant in question never asked me for my name or phone number (I thought it was the law) and sit anywhere you like - it was not busy so that really did not matter that much.
Back to airport matters I would think the airport is quite pleased to get nearly half a million passengers in July in the present climate.

​​​​

[pabely]

Back to airport matters I would think the airport is quite pleased to get nearly half a million passengers in July in the present climate.
The council might be worried that it dilutes their case for Central Govenment assistance.

[pabely]

Is that the first W9 Moscow flight for a while today?

[Musket90]

Airport CEO's always make positive public statements whatever the situation otherwise it'll put off people using the airport

[LTNman]

Airport CEO's always make positive public statements whatever the situation otherwise it'll put off people using the airport

There is a difference between positive statements and lies. Why not just be open and say we will do our best and put in as many measures as we can but we can not guarantee social distancing in all situations.

On a different note, while walking the dog, I spoke to a man I know who knows someone heavily involved in the Dart protect. He said the the ski slope that is meant to represent flight and that adorns the bridge over the A1081 has cost £850,000 and was a major engineering project to build and attach to the bridge.

Well it looks nice and will look better still when the LED backlighting is switch on. I have never been a fan of Luton’s cheap as chips terminal where the airport operator has built it to a cost cutting budget. The same can’t be said for the council funded Dart where no expense has been spared. With the £18m overspend and a year to go before opening the bill so far comes to £243m excluding the 5 year maintenance contract that has been signed. If the second terminal is built the Dart will be a necessity. If it isn’t the Dart will be a white elephant at a cost of £4m a second time saving between the published travel times for the Dart at 5 minutes and the shuttle bus at 6 minutes.

With the airport reaching capacity in 2019, some 2 years before the completion of the Dart, the Dart was never needed to enhance capacity for the existing airport although it will improve passengers perception of Luton as a major airport although most passengers will never use it.

[southside bobby]

LTNman...

As you continue your theme of social distancing at LTN & to extrapolate surely the relevant Government Departments are fully aware too & continuing then my own theme are by inference condoning the situation along with the PM`s position of (mass) travel but with no National mitigation as such...If you wish to construe this as "Government bashing" so well & good but first duty of Government always is to protect the populace & it does appear they fail Nationally in fundamental regards...

Perhaps you should write to the the relevant departments & No10 with your perceptions at LTN & for the interest of the forum/s then publish the answers & explanations received...

[Yahoo!®]

I think the difficulty is there are people who don’t maybe have any friends or family to have discussions of their thoughts and suchlike, so coming on here is perhaps the only way of engaging in such topics that they are passionate about. I don’t have a problem with that personally as long as he continues to post the cool pictures of the airport which I’m sure we all appreciate.

[Cloud1]

LTNman...

As you continue your theme of social distancing at LTN & to extrapolate surely the relevant Government Departments are fully aware too & continuing then my own theme are by inference condoning the situation along with the PM`s position of (mass) travel but with no National mitigation as such...If you wish to construe this as "Government bashing" so well & good but first duty of Government always is to protect the populace & it does appear they fail Nationally in fundamental regards...

Perhaps you should write to the the relevant departments & No10 with your perceptions at LTN & for the interest of the forum/s then publish the answers & explanations received...

I think LTNman would be quite happy having no one going through the airports at the moment. The subsequent job losses and significant impact on mental health of thousands upon thousands wouldn’t matter. So bored of this now. Fact is we need to get people moving if we are to have any aviation industry left particularly with winter, the harshest of months financially for airlines, just around the corner.

[Lee Baker Street]

Fortunately LTN Airport is operating and flight programmes are continuing to flourish. For the very first time in my life I witnessed 8 aircraft all lined up and ready to take their turn to depart runway 07. It made me realise we will eventually return to normal times once more. No politics and no negativity makes reading comments in here more enjoyable!

[LTNman]

I think the difficulty is there are people who don’t maybe have any friends or family to have discussions of their thoughts and suchlike, so coming on here is perhaps the only way of engaging in such topics that they are passionate about. I don’t have a problem with that personally as long as he continues to post the cool pictures of the airport which I’m sure we all appreciate.

lol. It is only here I find people who share the same passions. My old woman and adult children don’t give a monkeys. We all might disagree sometimes but it makes for stimulating conversations with some well reasoned thoughts that do influence opinions. If we just posted about new routes and airlines I don’t think there would be many posts.

[Buster the Bear]

I have been told that businesses wishing to send their staff abroad are facing a massive hike in the cost of insuring them against contracting Covid-19. You cannot check out new suppliers, ensure good working practices are being maintained by suppliers, or a vast plethora of other tasks that involve staff members having to travel. Once an effective vaccine is rolled out, I can see a sudden exponential growth. Brilliant news for airlines, as supply and demand would dictate excellent yields. The pent up demand by then will be massive. Trying to forecast demand and the agility to move capacity rapidly as lockdowns around the globe occur will dictate the survival of the fittest. By far the greatest challenge for any government will be to prevent a second wave. Winter as we all know is the time when viruses love to transfer from their hosts. If any industry needs enduring support, it is the travel and hospitality sector. Without such support, I suspect wholesale redundancies from November 1st. I don't think anyone can really predict what aviation will look like in the UK 12 months from now? My own guess would be that if slots become available in substantial quantity at Heathrow and Gatwick next Spring, could we see the resident airlines prepared to switch capacity away from Luton if the price is right? If I was LBC, I'd have a Plan B in my back pocket.

[southside bobby]

Ah well the post #4227 just above from LTNman gets my accolade at least as one of the best ever replies too...in a good way...

[LTNman]

The Gateway bridge has had its superstructure fully painted. The slope is in white and the supports are in battleship grey. While the bridge seems to be all but complete work continues around its base. Temporary fencing still covers the crossing but lower permanent fencing is already in place. The highest part of the bridge has a red warning light attached. Note the bridge is actually curved which doesn't show in this photo.
https://i.imgur.com/IkglI0b.jpg

Central station has had its upper steelwork installed. The design doesn't seem great at keeping the rain out. The white objects are the tops of the escalators that are covered in plastic.
https://i.imgur.com/AKo0soH.jpg

Viewed from the terminal side this will be the route from the terminal to the station. To the left is the service road. When finished passengers heading for the drop off zone will still have to follow the route under the footbridge and then turn sharp left followed after 100m by a sharp right turn.
https://i.imgur.com/eV5l7Rf.jpg

The bigger picture. The concrete structure closest to the camera will not normally have passenger access. Note the grey painted concrete wall that is being dug out.
https://i.imgur.com/AzXSlwp.jpg

Finally to the left of the coach will be the new access route for authorised vehicles only including coach and taxi rank access.
https://i.imgur.com/HUrCMv0.jpg

[Alloy]

Having used and operated out of LTN for several decades, I’m no fan of the airport and all of it’s faults that are mostly in my mind due to cost cutting. There is much criticism above of the airport’s handling of COVID and passenger segregation but of what I’ve seen of some other airports in Western Europe recently, LTN airport is doing at least as good, if not better job than most.

The airline involved seemed to be genuinely trying their best as well to provide segregation when possible but the passengers generally seemed to not always be helping matters.

[Yahoo!®]

The Gateway bridge has had its superstructure fully painted. The slope is in white and the supports are in battleship grey. While the bridge seems to be all but complete work continues around its base. Temporary fencing still covers the crossing but lower permanent fencing is already in place. The highest part of the bridge has a red warning light attached. Note the bridge is actually curved which doesn't show in this photo.
https://i.imgur.com/IkglI0b.jpg

Central station has had its upper steelwork installed. The design doesn't seem great at keeping the rain out. The white objects are the tops of the escalators that are covered in plastic.
https://i.imgur.com/AKo0soH.jpg

Viewed from the terminal side this will be the route from the terminal to the station. To the left is the service road. When finished passengers heading for the drop off zone will still have to follow the route under the footbridge and then turn sharp left followed after 100m by a sharp right turn.
https://i.imgur.com/eV5l7Rf.jpg

The bigger picture. The concrete structure closest to the camera will not normally have passenger access. Note the grey painted concrete wall that is being dug out.
https://i.imgur.com/AzXSlwp.jpg

Finally to the left of the coach will be the new access route for authorised vehicles only including coach and taxi rank access.
https://i.imgur.com/HUrCMv0.jpg
excellent photos and updates as always LTNman. Appreciated :ok:

[LTNman]

Done just for you, you see comments and opinions can influence me.

One thing I noticed this month is just how busy the airport has become even over July. Easyjet still has 3 or 4 aircraft on the south stands with their engine covers on but apart from that I would struggle to tell a difference between road and aircraft traffic compared to last year. The majority of the mid term car park is full and maybe around 70% of the long term car park is now occupied.

In landside M&S is still closed as is Starbucks while in airside more and more shops and eating establishments continue to reopen although I suspect the more unsuccessful ones will now never reopen.

It is hard to judge total passenger numbers as passengers seem to arrive and depart in noticeable waves now but I think they will be substantially up on July. The airport and terminal seem to be carrying the ideal amount of passengers without making it feel overcrowded so I will be interested to read the passenger reviews over the coming months.

It is already hard to remember the drop off zone without a single car in it yet it was only on April 15th I took this.

https://i.imgur.com/AvdgD2u.jpg

Yesterday
https://i.imgur.com/VINV40S.jpg

[LGS6753]

Currently running at just over 200 passenger movements a day. Wizzair look to be almost at normal, but EZY movements well down, and often one or more of the based Ryans doesn't leave in the first wave.

[LTNman]

I said on the 12th that I was thinking close to a million passengers for August. I might be way off but I am still thinking similar numbers but passengers might be dropping as late booking passengers are put off by fresh quarantine measures and the inability now to complete 2 weeks quarantine before the schools go back for some destinations.

[LGS6753]

A quick analysis of yesterday (Sunday) showed:
Passenger movements (excl. freight and positioning): 219
Of which:
BLA 7
EZY 76
EJU 4
WUK 42
WZZ 63
RYR - EI 22
RYR - SP 4
LOG 1
I have counted EZY/EJU and WUK/WZZ by flight code, but RYR by aircraft registration.

[LTNman]

219 flights x 31 days x 147 passengers per flight = 1m passengers for August. Maybe I will be spot on if 147 is the average load.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

The one million figure might be just about reachable, but it will depend on how long Greece and its islands stay off the 14 day England quarantine requirement.
But alas l think it will be at the latest for only this week or part of next week.

[BHX5DME]

I am not so sure all flights would average 147 pax.
I would imagine Wizz are loading well but not sure about all easyjet flights ?
I would estimate August at less then 700k
But I got July wrong !

[LTNman]

Ryanair have announced demand is dropping so maybe Luton has peaked over the last couple of weeks. Maybe we should run a sweepstake to guess the August figures. 1m and 700k so far. Who has their finger on the pulse?

[Buster the Bear]

I was chatting to an easyJet crew today and apparently easyJet have been offered hangars and large office space at Gatwick at a competitive cost and are now considering their H.Q. options. There were 8 airframes at the holding points today when London stopped all departures due CB activity in the LTMA.

[LTNman]

As Gulfstream have found out staff are reluctant to relocate.

[Captain_Caveman]

I was chatting to an easyJet crew today and apparently easyJet have been offered hangars and large office space at Gatwick at a competitive cost and are now considering their H.Q. options. There were 8 airframes at the holding points today when London stopped all departures due CB activity in the LTMA.


complete and utter rubbish regarding moving to Gatwick... Another case of creative Galley Fm

[SWBKCB]

As Gulfstream have found out staff are reluctant to relocate.

Based on recent events, what the staff think isn't necessarily an easyJet priority.

[LTNman]

What is the advantage to Easyjet of moving its HQ 60 miles?

[SWBKCB]

Leaving aside all other things like quality of accomodation and location, etc, if hangars and offices are sitting empty at LGW, maybe cheaper than what they have at present. Presumably those hangars and offices had people working in them who if they have no other prospect of work may accept lower pay and conditions.

Equally, the threat of such a move may be used to lower costs at Luton.

[LTNman]

I don’t think they will go anywhere. They own outright the site of their new HQ which was a big thing for them. The plans have been submitted, which is to their own design but the building of it can be put off until better times.

[southside bobby]

"Luton Airport" to be "loaned" a further £60 Million by Luton Council bringing the overall total now to £400 Million...Wowzzer

[LTNman]

That is to stave of bankruptcy. Another £23m is being loaned next year with another year of no dividend. How they know one year in advance what passenger numbers will be is a mystery.

The council set up LLAL to be the collector of rents and concession fees with no expenditure. By next year their debt will be closer to £500m than £400m when it is the concessionaire that is meant to be the investor and not the council/ LLAL

[LTNman]

Seems the council is keen to keep its airport company’s dire financial position a secret regarding its £60 loan.

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/transport/ps60m-loan-luton-airport-company-would-bring-total-it-owes-council-nearly-ps400m-2944478