twice as many passengers travelled on scheduled flights from Luton than on its charter flights in 1998. The airport dealt with a total of 4.1m customers, a rise of 1m on 1997.
Of these, 2.7m were scheduled passengers and 1.4m charter passengers. The rise in numbers was due to increased flights from EasyJet, Debonair and Ryanair, vindicating chief executive Frank Pullman’s aim to establish Luton as a low-cost airline hub.
The opening of a 6m capacity terminal in June will meet continued growth. There will be direct rail services from London when its dedicated airport station opens next winter.