Aviation Minister visits London Luton Airport
Published: 26 March 2012
London Luton Airport Operations Limited (‘LLAOL’) was delighted to welcome Aviation Minister Theresa Villiers to the airport today.
During her visit, the Minister joined the Airport’s airline partner, Wizz Air to celebrate flying its 10 millionth passenger through London Luton in just seven years.
Speaking during a tour of the airport, Theresa Villiers said, “I would like to thank the team at London Luton for not only giving me the opportunity to see for myself the airport’s impressive facilities, but also help mark this important milestone for Wizz Air.
We have been clear that we want aviation to be able to grow, and it is encouraging to see how successful London Luton airport has become. London Luton is playing an increasingly important role in the aviation connectivity in London and the South East, as well as opening up new markets around the world to the local economy and providing employment for thousands of people."
Glyn Jones, Managing Director of LLAOL, said “We’re delighted that the Minister is here to share Wizz Air’s remarkable achievements. The strong working partnership we have forged with them has secured an average annual growth in passengers of 39% over seven years, opening up new markets around the world to the local and regional economy. Despite the challenging economic climate the low cost model which we have developed here at the airport has allowed both London Luton and modern, dynamic airlines such as Wizz Air to become successful growth stories”.
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Pictured L to R: Theresa Villiers, Aviation Minister, Glyn Jones, Managing Director, London Luton Airport
For more information contact :
London Luton Airport Press Office pressoffice@ltn.aero
Notes to Editors:
London Luton Airport is one of the UK’s largest airports and carried 9.5 million passengers in 2011. The Airport directly and indirectly employs over 500 and 8,000 staff respectively, is a key economic driver for the region and a major base for ‘low cost’ or ‘no frills’ air travel.
easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Monarch, Thomson, Aer Lingus Regional, EL AL, Blue Air, Adria Airways and Flybe operate from the airport, departing to over 90 destinations including services to Europe, Africa, and Asia, with onward connections to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bangkok via Tel Aviv.
London Luton Airport Operations Limited, through its parent company TBI Limited, is owned jointly by the leading international infrastructure provider abertis Infraestructuras S.A. (with a 90 per cent shareholding) and the international business arm of Aena, the Spanish national airport and air traffic control organisation, Aena Desarrollo Internacional S.A. (with a 10 per cent shareholding).
Wizz Air, the largest low cost – low fare airline in Central and Eastern Europe and carried more than 11 million passengers in the last 12 months. The airline's fleet currently consists of 35 Airbus A320 aircraft operating from 15 bases, in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Serbia and Lithuania.