LUTON Airport is preparing to deal with severe congestion during the summer months after the opening of its new £40m terminal was delayed.
The 32,000sq metre facility was due to open tomorrow, but safety and security checks have yet to be completed.
While these are carried out during the summer, passengers will be forced to use the smaller existing terminal.
At peak times last summer the airport – named by the Civil Aviation Authority as the UK’s fastest-growing airport in 1998 – could not cope with the number of passengers and had to install temporary buildings to create more space.
The current terminal has capacity for 2.5m customers annually, but 4.1m passed through its doors last year. The airport expects to handle 5m passengers during 1999.
Marketing director John Kingsford confirmed the new terminal will not open until after the peak season ends on September 6.
He said:”We have to make sure that safety standards are met – that is top of the agenda for us. There are a range of issues to complete. It is very complex.”
Kingsford said the airport will recruit more staff to cope with extra passengers in the summer.
“We are working with our customers and airlines, but I only expect some problems for a few hours a week at peak times,” he added.
Kingsford said there were no plans to create additional terminal space with temporary accommodation, as it did last year.
He said new car-parking spaces will be ready to cope with extra passengers.
The new terminal will provide double the number of check-in desks, improved baggage handling and extra catering facilities. The current terminal is due to be used as a departure area once it is replaced.
The delayed opening is the second setback for the airport’s plans. It expected to open a £12m dedicated rail terminal last year, but problems with securing the land means it will not be operational until at least September. Luton’s growth has come from its core charter business and capacity increases from EasyJet and Debonair.