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LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  26 July 2011 by Dave Stanley   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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There seems to be a growing consensus on this site that Luton is the worst airport in the UK. Having just passed through it for the first time in about 8 yrs, I can confirm that view. The queues are unbelievable. Starting on the approach road and then at every possible point onwards. The operators of this airport clearly do not care about customers. They take every opportunity to charge, whether it be dropping off passengers, bypassing security queue, priority boarding etc. The only saving grace is the business lounge, which achieves an average status by UK standards - Internet is free and there are a few snacks and drinks.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  26 July 2011 by Ted Bindy   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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We got to passport control having arrived from Barcelona. The queue was massive and took us 40 mins to get through - this represented about a third of the journey time. I find this wholly unacceptable: if they can not sensibly cope with the amount of traffic they should decrease the number of flights they handle.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  9 May 2011 by J Henson   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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I agree with the suggestion below, that this is arguably the worst airport in the UK. The revolving doors at the entrance to departures struggle to cope with the footfall and are incredibly slow. There seems to be a massive lack of check in space with spiralling queues and airline staff struggling to keep queues and check-in under control. Sprinkler system activated and leaking water all over emergency doors in departures. Food outlets over-priced and food poor quality. Security queue an absolute disgrace in terms of amount of time you are expected to wait. I refuse to pay for the express service - you should not have to wait more than 15 minutes regardless of whether you pay extra. Many of us waited over 40 minutes in the normal security line. Airline staff constantly having to shout out flight numbers so certain passengers could be brought to the front of the queue to ensure that they don't miss their flight. Not professional and not a good image of the UK to be sending to the world.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  22 April 2011 by H Macduff   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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At 6 am on a Sunday morning in April there was a queue of traffic from the terminal back to the Ibis Hotel roundabout. Took the risk of being dropped off on the road to avoid missing our flight despite the warnings of penalties for doing so. Once through the embarkation check point we found the combs before the security check were absolutely packed with anxious travellers so we 'relanded' and paid to use the security 'priority' channel. The walkways were full of highly stressed people running for their gate presumably delayed by the security queues. Moral - dont assume that there are any quiet times and give yourself 3 hours just in case. Just glad we had no luggage to check in.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  11 April 2011 by Giles Davies   (UK)

Customer Rating :  5/5

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I checked in online and was only carrying hand baggage, so unable to comment of queues at the check-in, security was quick, through in 5-10 mins. Good selection shops, restaurants and foreign exchange. Great thing with the airport is the walk to your departure gate, is no more than five minutes. Arrived back around lunchtime, and airport was very quiet, took only 10 mins from disembarking the aircraft to exiting the terminal. Airport is 29 miles from Central London, but unlike other London airports, the railway station is not actually on the airport site and have to take a five minute bus ride to the station.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  4 April 2011 by J Rooney   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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This is a budget airport, and is 50 miles away from London. Transport to and from the airport is quite easy - you can get the half-hourly coach from London Victoria bus station, or the train from a wide number of stations. The pre security check in halls are big and very airy, and a large number of food/drink outlets. The toilets that I used were clean, and security was quick, though this was at 5:30am. Also, security were very helpful when I lost my boarding pass, and reassured me that I would still be able to fly, and they did seem very professional. Once through the security, airside not as bright or airy, but quite big, with enough seats. The pre security bit needs more seating for passengers, and in the early hours, it was quite cold. I didn't like the fact that they charge for the plastic bags at security, when other London airports had them for free. The gate areas need more seating, and more staff cohesion - someone repeatedly opening and closing the doors to a freezing airstrip at 7 in the morning when everyone is tired is not good. The airport website indicates that the coffee shop is closed, but just to be on the safe side, I'd go to one of the Costa or Nero stands, or wait until you are airside.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  28 February 2011 by H Macduff   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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The destination map on the airport website used to show which airlines served each destination. Now all you get is a timetable which does not show the airline or airline code and you have to click on the airport portal to make a booking presumably through an agent of the airport company. I queried this on the airport website but did not get a response. Also the 'live flight information' is not very' live' for example the EZY flight to Edinburgh today was showing 'depart at scheduled time' on the Luton Screen when the BAA screen at Edinburgh was showing a 30 minute arrival delay for at least an hour before the scheduled departure time from LTN. Indeed, the Luton screen never showed any delay and the flight details simply disappeared from the screen about 30 minutes after the scheduled time. Not very helpful.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  2 February 2011 by P Cairnduff   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Luton seems to want to make a statement that although it's a lot smaller than Heathrow and Gatwick, it can handle everything just as well, if not better. Certainly, having travelled through Luton several times, mostly transferring between easyJet flights, I have been impressed by the efforts made to make the passenger experience as enjoyable as possible - the modern and clean terminal provides a good range of shops, cafes and other services on both sides, ample seating and signage is clear. This airport is ideal for the less experienced traveller who likes comfort and convenience and would prefer shorter walks to the boarding gates. Over 30 miles from London, but frequent rail services will get you there quickly.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  27 January 2011 by F Jones   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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Nightmare trying to drop off or pick up a passenger - you have to pay £1 to drop off/pick up. If you are not sure of your passenger arrival, you better not go in the pick up zone until you are sure your passenger/s are waiting for you at the pick up point as you only have 10 mins waiting time for the £1 you pay otherwise you may receive a fine in the post as cameras are operating everywhere. You can wait at the medium term car park for free for the first half hour. Absolute rip off and un-necessary worry when trying to pick up somebody. Personally, I wouldn't use Luton airport unless I have absolutely no other choice. You are better off paying a bit extra on your ticket and using another Uk airport.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  19 October 2010 by Paul Harvey   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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Luton airport has a mixed reputation and in particular, it likes to charge travellers for as many additional things as possible, including £1 for dropping passengers off at the terminal, £1 for four plastic bags for your liquids (although you are only allowed to use one), £3 for fast track security etc. On the Wednesday morning we flew out, the airport was operating efficiently. It took 20 minutes from parking our car in the long stay car park to walking into the terminal, queues at non-fast track security were very short and we were through in a few minutes. Actually getting onto the plane was the usual scramble and it was disappointing to see the ground staff at the gate responsible for shepherding us onto the plane, deliberately and obviously ignore the requests of a mother whose arms were full of children, buggies and bags for help in getting onto the plane. Our return back through the airport was very quick – 15 minutes from landing to the bus (a wait of less than 10 minutes). The airport looks scruffy but for us, it worked well.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  31 August 2010 by Alexandra Abraham   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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This is probably the worst airport in the UK. From the outrageous non refundable trolley charge of £2 to the £3 charge to fast track through security (non payers are penalised by huge queues and having to haul suitcases up the stairs as the escalator is for the sole use of the fast trackers) to the horrible messages on continuous loop and signage, not to mention the hundreds of stairs and long corridors you have to stagger along with your suitcases - this airport is a disgrace. I can only think that people are so numbed and appalled by it that they have lost the will to complain and just want to get out - quickly. The security staff don't realise that they only have jobs because passengers are there to be checked. I have lost count of the intrusive body friskings I have endured - and the sight of frail old people in wheel chairs having hands thrust down the backs of their seats in search of god knows what has to be seen to be believed. Don't use this airport unless you absolutely have to - if we all vote with our feet then perhaps something will be done!

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  7 May 2010 by A Hills   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

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Sadly it is my nearest airport and is used by cut price airlines - and this shows. Expensive drop off charges and it is no longer free to take the bus to Luton Airport Parkway. Only useful tip - use the free short term parking for both arrivals and departures and validate your parking ticket at the exit from the arrivals hall within the "free hour".

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  26 February 2010 by P McCarthy   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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Luton is an acceptable budget airport. The fast trains to London St Pancras can be as little as 20 minutes and the shuttle bus was fine when it got going. Paying for the bus transfer seemed voluntary. Security was ok in terms of speed but there were vicious announcements about carrying only one item of baggage and purchasing clear plastic bags. The waiting area is fine but not exciting and limited eating options. The worst aspects of the airport are the lack of seats and space at the gates and the long corridors with budget plastic signs that feel like hospitals.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  19 February 2010 by Gary Farrelly   (France)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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For some reason the authorities at Luton have denied passengers any views too see aircraft. Are windows really such an unreasonable demand. Watching planes taxi and park is one pleasure of airline travel to be taken for granted and keeps the kiddies quiet. Luton is a simple and compact airport to navigate. Nothing special in the aesthetic but hardly offensive like the thoroughly vile LGW. Aviance lounge pay as you go - good value and well stocked. Lots of retail and catering. Luton is okay as low fare hubs go but nothing more than that.

LUTON AIRPORT customer review :  5 November 2009 : by Mark Luddington   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

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Over the years I have flown from Luton I have witnessed a sad demise from what was once a nice little airport to what is now a budget orientated airport and it shows, security at anytime of the day is long and slow with some unhappy looking staff, although there is a 'fast track security' lane before the main screening area which will charge you £3 for the privilege, also the management have now cottoned on to charging £1 for two re-sealable plastic bags for gels etc - also the drop off charge of £1 just about puts the icing on the cake, with passengers being dropped off on the approach road adding to the congestion to avoid paying the drop off fee. If you are flying from Luton with Ryanair the airline uses gates 1 to 3 which are the furthest gates from the departure area, here is some advice - if you want a refreshment then there is a nice little bar area next to these gates so instead of using the departure area restaurants and to save your legs then use this bar and wait for your flight.

LUTON AIRPORT review :  22 September 2009 : by C Hellberg   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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Luton airport has the feel of an airport for cut-price airlines. Since it's so far out of the city and doesn't have a large volume of passengers, trains are not very frequent and not fast (compared with LHR for example). The bus to the airport was also late, going whenever they can wait till they get a full bus. The airport is strict with the 1 bag policy (meaning laptop bag counts as a bag, as does a handbag I'm told). All other airports I've been to are more lenient on this policy. On the plus side, security was quite brisk; they had a lot of people to process but had many scanner gates open and people were moving fast. Airside there are some food and goods shops to keep you busy before the flight. I will still avoid flying this airport unless I have plenty of time to throw away and money is tight.

LUTON AIRPORT review :  8 September 2009 : by D Green   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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On 3rd Sept 09 at 6:00am the traffic was queuing down to the IBIS hotel. The roundabout heading into the airport was chaos with cars from another direction trying to join the queue to the airport drop off zone. At this point it was a complete bottleneck. All of this is caused by a planning nightmare. Only two small drop off areas are open. There is an other area set aside for customers who have pre-booked but I guess even they have to queue to get in. The two lanes open only have spaces for only about 40 cars and cannot cope with the number of cars arriving and you are charge a £1 even if you are there 10secs. A third area remained closed with a barrier down. Finally some planner has had the brilliant idea of making the outward traffic cross the incoming traffic and has put traffic lights to delay things further. I can only say I found Luton ran smoother when there was a bigger temporary drop off area which was free and the whole place had miles of traffic cones going into the airport. The planners need to get their heads together and sort this out for the passengers, rather than money making schemes and preferably not the same planners.

LUTON AIRPORT review :  31 August 2009 : by Ian Waddell   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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The new arrangements for drop-off at Luton Airport are a disaster. I have just arrived at 05.30 and the queue of traffic waiting to get in to the "drop off zone" stretches back to the Ibis Hotel and is causing chaos at roundabouts. Now you have to drop off further away from the terminal than you used to - and you are charged £1 (watch for that to go up) for the privilege. Luton is the airport equivalent of Ryanair with their grubby little money-making schemes (luggage trolley charge, "fast track" security for a charge). The escalators to Departures aren't working - I guess they're about to impose a charge for their use. Otherwise it's not a bad little airport!

LUTON AIRPORT review :  31 July 2009 : by A Strachan   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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Hopeless mess of an airport . Traffic chaos caused by simply atrocious new traffic flows around drop off mean you can wait 30 mins or more to get up the approach road when it used to be pretty smooth flowing even on the busiest Monday morning. The front area of the airport is choked with secondary smoke from smokers who are allowed to use the paved and covered areas in front of ALL of the entrances.

LUTON AIRPORT review :  31 July 2009 : by Mark Evans   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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I must report that the early traffic jams remain as deplorable as he described. I noted a sad trail of pax (with heavy luggage) who had been obliged to bail out of cars and taxis - an unnecessarily stressful experience for all. I am a regular user of LTN, taking the Green Line coach service, and had never suffered such chronic delays on the approach to the airport, not even while the recent road construction was under way. I advise anyone with an early morning flight to allow an extra 30-40 minutes to negotiate that final congested mile.

LUTON AIRPORT review :  27 June 2009 : by David Harrison   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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I recently needed to take two friends to Luton Airport for a flight about 7a.m., so check-in about 6 a.m. We got to within about a mile of the Airport by about 5:45 a.m. and encountered a solid traffic jam. When we finally reached the drop-off area it became apparent that the jam was caused by people trying to enter the drop -off area and being refused entry. I am told by others that this is a common occurrence and considering the amount of new road development that has taken place recently is inexcusable. y friends caught their flight by the skin of their teeth (and by walking some of the way carrying their luggage) but there must have been dozens of people who didnt

LUTON AIRPORT review :  1 June 2009 : by Geoffrey McNab  (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Not having travelled via Luton for some time I was pleasantly surprised at the improvements. It is worth noting the £12.50 single rail fare from St. Pancras station in London is valid on either the First Capital Trains (slower) or the East Midland Trains (faster) which depart from the same level as the Eurostar trains. I took an East Midlands train which went non-stop to Luton Parkway where I stepped onto a shuttle bus and was stepping into the airport departures area a mere thirty minutes after leaving St. Pancras! With hand luggage only I already had my Easyjet boarding pass printed and therefore avoided the queues at check-in where the desks do not open until two hours before the flight. A tip for travelers is the M&S Food to Go situated close to the arrivals area if you want to eat well at prices lower than the various food outlets. All round the airport are machines encouraging you to buy a Priority Security pass for £3. Perhaps at a very busy period this might be worth it but when I went up to security there were only four people in front of me and I was through the first check in a flash. There were several scanners in use and the only two people in front of me for the one I was directed to and I was soon through the system. Airside seems a great improvement on the old airport as I remember it. I suspect at busy times there would not be enough seating but on this occasion I had no problems finding a seat in between walking about and exploring the shops. The departure screens are rather small and I suspect some people with visual impairment might find them difficult to read. Like other airports passengers are requested to wait in the lounge and only go to the gate when the number appears on the screen. Be warned, the walk from the departure lounge to Gate Fifteen is quite a hike! All in all it was a surprisingly pleasant passage through the airport and I would certainly consider using Luton again.

LUTON AIRPORT review :  26 May 2009 : by Y Nasiokas  (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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First time through LTN, overall a pleasant experience though. Only minus is the limited check in facilities for easyJet given the overall area available in the terminal. Shopping facilities typical of a mid-size UK airport, security clearance fast and efficient, with extra scanners opening when needed, resulting in a smooth flow of passengers. Felt a little crowded every now and then, but overall a smooth and trouble free departure.

LUTON AIRPORT review : 15 April 2009 : by John Linehan

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flying out of Luton airport for the first time I was very impressed by the set-up. None of the tedious queues at security associated with Heathrow and Gatwick, plenty of good seating and refreshments and only a minimal walk to the departure gate for our easyJet flight to Istanbul (see my comments on Sabiha Gokcen airport). The arrival back from Istanbul was also pleasing, clearing immigration and customs within twenty minutes of deplaning. I'll certainly consider flying out of Luton in future.

LUTON AIRPORT review : 14 April 2009 : by L Moik

Customer Rating : 3/5

Outward journey was very smooth , no problems. Not a big airport. Return was a different story. Passport control was very slow at midnight - I had to wait approx 25 mins. I travelled back to Central London - The Green Line bus company was very good, on time to Central London. A bit pricey one way ticket - £14.