Luton Airport Passenger Reviews and Luton Airport Traveller Reports

We missed our flight yesterday due to ridiculously long delays in security. Easyjet is inflexible and preferred to offload our bags than let us board even though it was 25 minutes to departure. Cost us, and the 20 others that missed Easyjet flights, £60 each to get flights 2 days later from Gatwick. So lost £120 on flight charges, taxi costs, 2 days of our all inclusive holiday, credit card charges, 8 priority passes for security (which we bought when we realised we wouldn't get through in time) - the list goes on. Just be aware that Luton airport is understaffed so allow masses of time. A combination of that + budget airlines = potential misery!

We have just returned from a wonderful weekend in Paris and, due to the convenient flight times, we elected to use Luton Airport. Thankfully, our arrival at security was perfectly timed as, whilst we didn't get stuck in the very lengthy queue ourselves, we did see it snaking its way behind us as we made our way through to departure on Friday evening. Had we been 10 minutes later, we would have got stuck at this stage ourselves. Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky on our return last night! We were dismayed to reach the passport control hall to find a very long queue of people and only three officials dealing with those with EU passports. Thanks to the lack of officials and chaotic organisation which allowed for significant queue jumping, it took 40 minutes for us to get through passport control. Given that Friday and Sunday evenings are peak times with a high number of passengers heading off/returning from weekends away, it seems ridiculous that Luton Airport is not staffed to deal with those demands!

16/04/13, Luton to Faro. Checked straight in with Easyjet and then straight through Security who were pleasant and helpful, airport did not appear to be very busy.

When arriving by plane at Luton airport you have to cross a road, go upstairs, along a long corridor and down more stairs. Then you arrive in a shabby immigration hall with long queues. Only after this do you reach the very poorly maintained toilets. There is an uncomfortable shuttle bus to the railway station. Altogether a very unwelcoming entry into the UK.

The pick up and drop off procedures are a disgrace. The airport management team should hang its head in shame for the appalling misery it inflicts on its paying customers. I've seen elderly people with suitcases trying to scramble over the barriers which are in place to force more money from them. I have already shifted my company business away from Luton airport and we now use Gatwick exclusively despite the fact that we are based within 10 miles of Luton. I have to use Luton airport to pick up or drop off my business contacts who have booked via this airport but otherwise I avoid it like the plague.

Now costs £2 to drop off near the airport. Use the mid term car park instead as you get 1/2 hr free and free shuttle bus - shortish wait in the cold. Now costs £2 for a trolley when you arrive from abroad - I think it is free when departing? Not good for families - have to travel on the bus, have to have a trolley as wife is pushing the pushchair.

One of the most infuriating airport experiences I have ever used. As a frequent business user, all future flights will be moved to Stansted or London City. The attitude of parking outfit Apcoa shames the airport and I have no intention of putting another penny of my cash in their pockets. A disgrace.

I travelled from Luton to Malaga on 30th March. I queued up for security approximately between 1300 and 1400 hrs. It took me approximately a half hour to go through security controls, which is not bad - but the security officer controlling the queue was rude and treating people like cattle! His demeanour was terrible.

The main departure lounge at Luton is often crowded. If you are in good time for your flight a good idea is to go to the old departure lounge area which is on the way to Gate 1, it is usually quiet here, plenty of seating and there is an ok coffee lounge. Keep a look on the monitors for your flight though as it takes about 5/10 minutes to get back to the new departure gates if your flight is leaving from there.

A pleasant and hassle-free experience. The walk from the parking shuttle-bus drop-off is slightly convoluted but, inside, it's bright and welcoming. The security check was well-organised and very quick. The departure lounge is bright and clean with ample comfortable seating and a good range of shops. Boots still do their very cheap meal-deal at normal price and we were able to take that on board our Easyjet flight. Departure gate information was clearly displayed. Would happily use Luton again.

First visit to Luton. The airport matches the budget airlines operating from there. No frills and little comfort but for cheap flights into/out of London it serves its purpose. My biggest gripe on this trip was actually with the cost for railway tickets. Almost 17 pounds (incl. booking and CC fee) for one way from St Pancreas to Luton terminal building is extortionate. For this reason I may consider using London City instead next time.

I always end up using it because I live in Milton Keynes. Its the only airport I have used that makes you pay for the privilege of putting customers and money through its shabby doors! The staff behind the scenes - well it feels like I am waiting for my bag to walk itself off the plane sometimes! The people picking me up are paying £1 every 10 mins to drive around the loop again. Trying out East Midlands next.

I have just dropped my husband off at Luton airport. I drove through the quick drop off lane with my £1. I parked by the side, my husband got out and proceeded to the barrier. Could I get out, of course not because some fool had parked on the zebra crossing and blocked the exit. I put my head out of the window and told him he was not allowed to park there. I received a dirty look, no sorry (of course not). The car park attendant saw all this and said he was very sorry but was so fed up with being sworn at the whole time he didn't bother to say anything anymore! What is this country coming to. Why doesn't the airport put a camera on the zebra it waste enough money trying to expand the airport. Come on England lets not put up with this any longer Lets start acting like the rest of Europe and take not take this rude language, breaking the law anymore.

Pickup / Drop off area is a disgrace. | know of no other airport where you have to pay for the privilege of driving through the pickup drop off area without stopping (apart from paying at exit barrier). If the person you wish to meet does not stand exactly in the pickup area but at the side of the road at the entrance to it you still have to pay to get out, but a couple of weeks later you receive an eighty pound fine from APCOA parking. If space really was a problem they could make a free drop off line with a 3 minute maximum stop to get as many cars in and out as possible. Works nicely at Nice with no need for enforcement. The current arrangement at Luton is just calculated to maximise income. Luton will be my last possible choice of British airports in the future. Liverpool was much better. Not enough seating in departures unless you buy a drink that you don't want, and all the little extras to gouge even more. I found the employees I met were all quite agreeable but there is a money grabbing ethos that permeates the whole airport that I didn't like.

Had to drop collect and drop of my daughter over the Christmas period. Told her to use Luton as is closer than Stansted. However, after the experience of going there I'd much prefer driving further and collecting her from Stansted. The traffic signs are awful and very misleading hence me driving into a no entry zone. Was soon told by a disgruntled employee that there are cameras monitoring that access and I'd get a fine. Congested, confusing, too many signs, to many roads leading of the small roundabout. Never want to go there again.

Worst experience travelling from and to Luton. Staff incredibly rude and dismissive. Treat you like cattle with no respect. Would love to travel from a different airport but Luton is the only one providing flights from and to my destination. I hope that changes soon as being forced to travel from and to Luton is a degradation I despise all thanks to the horrible staff.

Recently flew into Luton airport from Alicante. Although I am a very frequent flyer it is the first time I have encountered the new passport checking system. Which is in itself an excellent idea. However, the visual description of how to use them is not great! There was one man trying his best to assist people. After showing my passport I then had to pass into the next section but the gate did not open? I then heard a man yelling at me that I should come back and stand on the picture of the feet (which I had not seen because I was looking into the lens which scans your face), he then shouted to myself and other customers that 'it was not rocket science'. At this point I realised that it was a security guard leaning with his colleague outside the barriers shouting. I made my objection to the security guard about how he was treating people, for which I received no apology, he merely stated that he was not shouting at me but someone else. I was then told to 'go away' both verbally and with a wave of the hands! I have yet to find out what training airport security receive at Luton airport but surely basic manners and general politeness are an essential part of any job when dealing with the public.

Been a while since we've flown from Luton but felt compelled to write something after the bad reviews posted. I felt the whole experience was great. They seem to have fixed the problems with the road that I have experienced previously, straight through and into the drop off area. Check in was very busy being 6am but wasn't long before I was on my way to security. Again busy but no busier than other airports I've flown from, we were through and into the departure lounge inside of 20 minutes. as for the departure gates, ok they are not the best facilities I've seen but at least they're not 3 mile walks like some UK airports. I don't understand the poor comments regarding the staff and service, seems to me that these people obviously have an agenda of some kind, I saw lots of people arguing in security about having stuff taken off them but I suppose that happens if you don't follow the rules. I would recommend using this airport and I will use it again.

Luton Airport is a nightmare to get to off the A1. Then you get to the Airport, we went to the short stay parking today, which is badly lit, poorly surfaced and the signs are awful. Lots of exit signs so you drive towards one to realise there is no exit. The signs should have arrows on to direct you, which are missing. This car park has been in this state for what seems like years. Please get it sorted or reduce the parking charges to reflect the state of it.

I was booked on Easyjet flight at 12.00, Mon 29th Oct 2012 to Madrid. On the screens outside the security area at 11.20 there was no sign of a gate or wait in the lounge or go to gate etc. The screens just said check-in counter 48, like it had been the whole time, other later flights were already showing the gate number. I went to security: Only 3 lanes out of 12 were open, a long line of people waiting and it went very slow, took 39 minutes to go through security. Once through security I went to the screens saying: Gate closed (11:50). I missed my flight due to the lack of organization at Luton. Why is it not possible to assign proper gate on the screens in due time, at other airports at least it says gate information at xx hours, so one knows when to look. Luton is not big, this information must be available more than 40 minutes before the flight is closing. Why are only 3 lanes open when the airport knows how many passengers are travelling, resulting in unacceptable waiting times? Why are no screens in the security area to one can see when a flight is boarding or closing soon? These things are not rocket science. It results in passengers like me missing their flight, it is an example of poor organization and complete neglect for the customer, despite paying high airport fees. It gives Luton a deservedly bad name.

As a recent user of Luton airport, and after seeing the battering reviewers have given it on here, I felt the need to write a somewhat balanced review. I chose to fly from Luton despite living some 556 miles away in Inverness, Scotland: the reason, I could fly to Cyprus on the same day and save £660! On arrival, we used the long term car park, and was on a bus to the terminal within 10 mins, so no problems. Check in desks with Easyjet were busy, but took no longer than 15 minutes to get through. Security queues not long at all, and all through easily and pleasantly? No problems at all so far (at it was 10am on a busy Sat morning). Had a pleasant enough breakfast in the cafe before leaving, flight on time etc. Only issue I had was after being called to the gate, Easyjet decided to allow folks who wanted to put their hand luggage in the hold do so at the gate free of charge, and as a thank you allow them on as speedy boarders? Stood in a stairwell for around 10 mins after getting our tickets checked? So all in all it was not bad. Return journey as well was fine, slight delay in getting through security, but 4 planes seemed to have landed at once causing larger queues, but this was only about 10 mins hold up. Bus to the car park arrived promptly as well.

I recently had the misfortune to fly from Luton twice recently. The security area is a disgrace, one feels like cattle in a barn, the procedure is unpleasant. The departure lounge whilst modern needs to be 10 times bigger. The access walk to the planes is far too long, fortunately I am fit but for older people it must be awful, then you have to stand for up to half an hour in an unpleasant area waiting to walk to the planes in any weather. When I pre book at the mid stay or long stay I am unable to get out with the ticket given at the machine issued on entry, about 20 cars behind me the last time everyone was getting frustrated and annoyed, it took a long time to get the barrier lifted. The Airport like it was 10 years ago was far better.

My recent experience of Luton airport operations last week means I intend to use Stansted instead. The luggage reclaim on my homeward journey took 1 hour 10 min for any bags to appear on the belt. This is not an isolated case, its a common occurrence. Why was there no announcement of any delay, you get a railway announcement if a train is 5 min late - it's called customer service and I believe this is especially a problem on Sunday nights.I had a fantastic holiday but the last hour left a sour taste in my mouth. The crass lack of management response to the mounting issues and complaints indicates the attitude to the public and services they are responsible for. We the public pay for a service that they are supposed to provide - they fall a long way short of expectation.

I have to travel through Luton airport twice a week and have done for 8 years. There is never seating room in the check in area. There is a rip-off fee for 'Priority' security, a distance of some 10 metres and a possible time saving of 15 minutes, another rip-off scam based on the exact size and the type of fastening of clear plastic bags required for liquids. In the past year there has been a distinct improvement in the politeness and care of the security search staff, but you can still be bawled at or humiliated in front of other passengers. The amount of seating in the airport 'lounge' has been reduced (area taken over by Pret a Manger and other cafés). After boarding clearance has begun, the holding areas are cramped and are often simply stark staircases. On return I have found the automatic passport gates (installed at enormous cost to the tax-payer) open just 7 times out of the hundreds (see above) of times I have travelled, whilst staff actually manually checking passports are always too few while colleagues stand idly by. Final insult is added to injury by the group of further border control staff, clip-boards in hand, waiting to pounce on travellers who have just cleared immigration.

This is a pretty disgraceful excuse for an airport, poor facilities, disinterested staff, overcrowding and embarrassingly poor infrastructure. There are plenty of better, more accessible airports in the South East, I have no idea why Luton seems intent on alienating it's customers with such a poor airport experience.

For at least 2 years this airport has been a disgrace to the UK. I would now much rather travel from my home in Milton Keynes to either Stansted, Heathrow, or a Midlands airport than put up with what passes for service at Luton. As everyone knows, gaining entry to the airport itself is a nightmare. For how long are we going to have to add on an hour sitting in stationary traffic for the last mile before gaining entry to a car park? It's been at least 18 months now and no improvement. No-one cares! When you get there, unlike other airports every single thing you take for granted at other airports carries a charge at Luton. And finally on my last two trips you get the security supervisor from hell. No arguments with staff generally, but this particular gentleman takes delight in demeaning and insulting customers (not myself I hasten to add). Luton is beyond a joke.

As soon as you arrive at Luton airport and see that it looks like a glorified sports centre next to a parking lot you start to expect the worse. I tried to be optimistic but it wasn't easy. In fact I'd say it's hard to imagine how spending a night in an airport could be any worse: the main issue being the music that they insist on playing throughout the terminal the entire night. They don't seem to have grasped, or simply don't care, that not a single customer wanted the music on because we were all trying to sleep. Now, to be fair, I didn't experience any queues, but I do somewhat feel that might be because my flight was at 6.30am. The staff fall into two categories, which I think explains the differences between some of these reviews; some are quite friendly and do their best to help, whilst others do honestly look like they are suffering. One thing that surprised me was that there is no information desk, literally no qualified staff, beyond the departures control - only shop staff. So if you have any questions - tough, there's nobody to ask. I am not mistaken here, there really is no non-retail staff around the departures lounge. Lack of seating. Club music throughout the night. Forced to pay £1 for two resealable bags.

We decided to go to Corfu via Luton as opposed to Gatwick as the EasyJet flight was several hundred pounds cheaper for the 5 of us. We found it to be excellent; because it is so compact it was so easy to get to our gate. There were relatively short queues to check in - 10 mins max, passport and security as we had bought 'fast passes' had no queues at all. It was busy in the departure lounge but as it was a Saturday morning this wasn't surprising but we found seats and in the shops the queues moved very quickly. On our return it was again refreshing to not have to walk miles, our bags were returned really quickly and the transfer to the mid term car park was prompt. Overall a very positive experience.

Arrived to pick up daughter - 1/2 hour early as no delays - find out (Internet on phone) flight is delayed - head off to park up - Where? There is no facility for people in my position at all! Obvious 'mid term' car park no use - 1/2 hour free - £4.80 for 1 hour so head off to find another - there isn't one for this situation! End up parking on double yellow lines, with 7 other cars - when I stopped to ask an airport official all I got was a monotonous repeated "you can't park here" - he simply would not answer my question as to where I could park in my situation. Not a good experience at all - and I hadn't even got into the terminal!

We have just returned from our holiday and used Luton. We are a family of 2 adults and 3 children, and having used many UK airports including Heathrow and Gatwick and can honestly say that this is by far my favourite. On both departure and arrival we could not have encountered a more friendly bunch of staff. The Security staff were charming with the children. The check in process was quick (EasyJet), and security checks were completed efficiently and smoothly. Airside I would like a few more shops and restaurants, but what was there was good enough for a small airport. On arrival home (11.10pm) again we exited from the aircraft smoothly and bussed to the terminal, which was clearly signed. Luggage took a while. Passport Control - the rather stern looking Officer, was a delight, even asking to see my daughters teddy's passport and then stamping it, it made her day after a long journey.

London Luton airport must be one of the very worst in the UK. The disdain and contempt of some of the Border people is amazing. And the notices don't say 'Please', as they do at Heathrow: just do this and don't do that. In case you arrive at passport control, on returning, when there are not long queues, a person is employed solely to yell "do not duck under the ropes" as if many foreign visitors are going to understand 'ropes' and 'duck'.

We flew out of Luton on June 28th at 6am and was worried after reading others reviews but experienced no problems. We used the long stay car park which takes a bit of a drive to get to but is easy to find, wait for a bus to take us to terminal but that was expected. Check in and security were done in 20 mins. Staff at security were working their socks off to get everyone through quickly. Return involved a queue for immigration but staff were again trying to move it through and all the desks were manned. Electronic passports could go through straight away. Didn't really matter as luggage took a while to get through. From landing to arrival hall was 1 hour 10 min but that was what we used to expect at Heathrow 20 years ago, have just got used to quicker times. Another wait for a bus back to the long stay car park but that was expected and not really a problem.

Have used Luton many, many times since 1960, but the latest experience means I'll never fly from there again. First of all there was the apparently permanent difficulty of reaching the airport due to the ludicrous layout of the approach roads and the appalling drop-off facility, for which a charge is now made. After clearing check-in with Easy-Jet passing through security was a complete nightmare. The queue was down the non-working escalators and into the main concourse. Of course, in the interests of profiteering it was possible to buy a 'fast-track' through security for an unacceptable price. The Departure Lounge had a lack of seats which meant standing around until the departure gate was announced after which a 10 to 15 minute walk was necessary with no moving walkways to assist the elderly or those with young children. At the departure gate no seating was available at all. On returning 4 days later arrival at 22.10 hours, the wait at Immigration/Passport Control was in excess of 15 minutes. Pick-up was again chaotic and had to be paid for. So, now Luton Airport want to increase from 10m passengers per annum to over 18m. Well, with the currently unacceptable standards they will be lucky if their passenger totals don't drop right back. Without exception it can be said that Luton is the worst airport purporting to be of 'International' standard I have ever encountered.

Shocking experience at Luton 22nd June. Ryanair - no drop bag facility, just 1 big long queue for everyone. 1 Check in assistant. Nearby Ryanair check-ins for Malta etc had more than 1 check-in assistant and no queue! How can that be right? Took more than 30 minutes to clear drop bag, then proceeded through departures. Oh no, you cannot go through Departures, you must exit the terminal building and pass into another airport hanger, a long line of passengers for security, painfully slow, grossly inefficient - result 45 minutes to clear security. Just got to gate in time - then waited 20 minutes on tarmac, being penned whilst waiting in wind and rain for plane to be cleaned and cleared of passengers. Whilst waiting observed many passengers late at gate, missing flight due to severe delays at check-in - never again - Luton is the pits. On return flight, again penned in on tarmac, to allow other flight arrivals to go ahead, again 45 minutes to clear passport control - again a shambles - totally negates any price reduction. Clearly this airport cannot cope with the capacity. A very unpleasant experience - never again.

Arrived back from Kiev with Wizzair just before midnight on 25 June, with other dejected England fans. We were far more dejected after our experience at the hands of Luton Airport! It took around 15 minutes for them to put the stairs in place for us to leave the aircraft and we then had to queue for at least 45 minutes at immigration, in a line that reminded me of zombies in a horror film, slowly trudging and being shouted at by incomprehensible staff. Oh well, we thought - at least we our bags will already be there. Not a bit of it! Luton's Piece de Resistance was to keep us waiting for around two hours for our bags, along with passengers from at least four other flights. There was no explanation and only two announcements (thanks for your patience) in that time. I frequently travel worldwide and I state with confidence that Luton is an awful, national embarrassment of an airport. We flew out with BA from LHR T5, so didn't get the full benefit of Luton's apparent traffic queues, but the road system is non-sensical to say the least. Avoid - maybe the management will get the message - they should be ashamed of themselves.

First time I have used Luton Airport and it will be the last! We arrived more than 2 hours before flight was due to depart only to find no staff on the floor, no clear signage and a queue a mile long for the one check- in. It was Saturday before half term and Jubilee and they only had 1 person manning check-in. This was bad enough and then we came across security. They decided to spot-check one of the ladies in our group but did not communicate with us and left the case to one side whilst she had a little chat with her colleague. I approached her to advise our flight was leaving in ten minutes but she didn't care, just looked blankly at me. The result of this shambles and lack of customer care was a missed flight!

Having to travel from Acton in West London I was amazed how quick the journey took. I used the London over ground service to West Hampstead (18 minutes) and then took the train to Luton Airport which was approximately 22 minutes. In all, it took me 40 minutes to be at the airport station whereby I joined the bus link to the terminal building. The terminal was large and the shops plentiful. There was no adverse problems with security or check in formalities that I would not expect at any other airport. It is worth noting that I have flown from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City also, but I think Luton came out top for speed of house to airport terminal.

As a frequent flyer all I can say is how embarrassing this airport is as gateway to our country. When you do finally get there after queuing on the roads to get near the airport you then find everything is set up to fleece the traveller out of their hard earned cash right from the drop off area through to the boarding gate. Staff are aggressive and moody, gum chewing security personnel seem to be in abundance but its still painfully slow, also usually chaotic and overcrowded. Now the new overflow security channels are open which issue forth to the old terminal area - so if you want to use the facilities in the main terminal its a 10 minute walk and don't even think about buying the fast track ticket for security (which went up 25% from £3 to £4 last week) as you will be turned away if they are sending you to the overflow security channels. I honestly can't believe how badly managed this place is - if you don't have the facilities then why be greedy and schedule too many flights? Absolute shambles, avoid unless you have no options.

First flew from Luton in the '60's when the terminal was like an over sized scout hut. It was better then. Used it several times since up until about 2002 and was generally happy enough with the experience. Flew out to Palma on Monday May 14 2012 and back on May 18. Flew with Monarch for the first time, they were great. The airport is very far removed from good let alone great. In fact, it has become the worst airport I, a frequent flyer, have ever had the misfortune to use, for all the reasons listed here by others - as in all of them. It is the Fawlty Towers of airports, a total embarrassment and, as others have said, I dread to think what impression of the UK it gives any first time visitors. Shame on management and staff - all of you. Take a trip to Stansted to see how budget air travel should be handled. Luton Airport? Never again.

30 minute queues at security. Not all machines working. No sockets anywhere to charge mobile phone. Held in hot cattle pen to wait for flight. What more can I say?

I tried to take my liquids, toothpaste plus a deodorant, through security in a plastic bag 26x27cm which is a bit larger than the 20x20 in their regulations. After some protest, I was forced to buy 4 bags from them for £1. This is clearly a money making scam as I have never had a problem before. Getting a few extra quid from their customers is clearly more important than trying to be helpful. On return I had to queue for 20 minutes at UKBA. I have an electronic passport, but they were still using the old technology of photographic scanning. Luton Airport is a dump and the airlines that use it should put pressure on the operators to improve it immediately.

The security staff are aggressively unpleasant. The facilities are poor. It's not so much an airport as a couple of sheds. There are plenty of airports that largely cater to budget airlines (Malaga immediately comes to mind) that demonstrate that budget travel doesn't have to be so unpleasant. Two quick positives: the shuttle bus from the train station runs efficiently, and the immigration queues on the way back were quick, even for non-EU citizens like my wife (presumably because almost all of the flights are from EU destinations).

Parking cheap (advance booking), short wait for transfer bus, fast baggage drop and quickly through security. I have regretted booking this airport after previous experiences. However, at a quiet time it worked, which is all the evidence needed that the airport has over-expanded and should not be allowed to expand further. Return was uneventful and the passport queue tolerable, other than the irritation to watch the non-EU visitors going through more quickly with 2 lanes open for a tiny number in the queue. The transfer bus was waiting and we were on our way home 40 mins after landing, which must be a record for any UK airport! OK, both flights were Saturday evenings, so perhaps it was good luck, but credit where due - on this occasion only, so no, I still wouldn't recommend it on the basis of more frequent bad experience!

Flew to and from Luton to Bratislava. The airport is undergoing quite a lot of work, especially to the car parks so it does have the look and feel of a building site. Inside, the range of eateries is not bad but shopping is not all that good. Food is expensive at the various eating places. On return, the immigration queues late in the evening were appalling and not befitting of one of London's airports. They desperately need to sort this out if they want to attract business from the more major hubs and from new airports such as Southend.

Travelled by Whizz to Prague early morning. Redirected to Security Zone 2 outside the main airport. Travellers were treated to a herding effect controlled by staff who tended to shout requests to remove coats etc before arriving at screening. Baggage that had not cleared the scanners was lined up but only checked through with passengers in the exact order it came through scanner. This left people waiting for passengers who were slow at claiming their luggage. Through clearance we then had to walk back through to the main airport which took another 20 minutes. Airport usually fine but this aspect needs to be looked at.

I am a frequent user of this airport and over the years all services that the flying public require have plummeted to a level now where official intervention is required. No customer service at security, staff bark and shout at you. Horrendous queues, often extending from the security hall, down the stairs and all the way along the ground floor corridor and almost back to the entrance! Security bullies stand on guard at the only 2 available lifts, no entry! Charges for plastic bags, dropping off, trolleys the list goes on. Someone has to intervene before overseas visitors arrive for the Olympics and leave with a hugely negative view of airport customer service in the UK.

Really bad, security was so slow that we missed our flights and had I rebook at a cost of £220. They have a fast track system, at £6 a person that we could have used if someone had pointed it out, but I think that it's a fairly basic expectation, that if you arrive at the airport on time, standard security should allow you to make it to your flight on time. Staff were friendly in the main, but unhelpful. I'd rather effective, if not that helpful any day. Our rebooked flight was from Stansted. Security was perfect. In and through in about 5 minutes. Never again Luton.

I use this airport twice a week, I have been doing this for the past 4 years and have seen a decline in services and an increase in costs. I use the train and then the Capital Connect bus to the airport, this used to be free, it now costs £1.50 each way. Security got better 18 months ago after they installed new scanners, but a week ago at 5.45am and without any warning, passengers were sent outside to Security Zone 2 (to relieve the pressure on the main security zone). Staff were abrupt, rude and one employee kept on shouting at staff. In 4 years I have only seen the new E-passport machines working on a few occasions. I have stood in the passport control queue for up to an hour with only 3 desks open and 500 passengers waiting to be served.

Charges to drop off, for trolleys and parking, incredibly slow queues and abysmal services. Its quite unbelievable that this airport can stay in business, EasyJet and other operators should take a serious look at whether its the best airport to operate out of. Pay a bit extra up front for your ticket and go from another airport.

Have used the airport twice recently and found it barely acceptable. There have been some improvements to the quality of the air side departure lounge but elsewhere it is a shambles. Security scanning is slow and an unpleasant process that seems to outdo any other airport for curt officialdom. The way the airport management squeeze money out of their 'customers' by charging for drop off and fast track security screening is shameful. The airport seems not to have been planned but just thrown together. As a whole it reflects very badly on the UK and reveals a lack of any direction for real improvement.

I rarely visit Luton airport, but dropped off my wife at 5am in the dark and dense fog this morning. The unexpected £1 drop-off fee prompted me to write this objection. It's now 6.30am and she's just informed me that check-in and security processes were a shambles. The huge number of negative reviews I now note on this website should be a serious concern.

Very anxious about the journey to and from Luton and ultimately the experience was mixed. Had an 8.30 flight on Wizz but was warned to arrive 3hrs in advance. Paid for priority - it got me in to a lane light on people, but note this lane merges with one of the regular lanes, and they didn't have enough full body sweepers and we had to wait a long time before the metal detectors to be allowed past, while security personnel were standing around chatting. I paid £18.50 quid to sit in the lounge for 2 hours - worth it. Boarding was alright, though the wait in the stairwell was a bit uncomfortable, especially on a hot day. On the return immigration was empty - E-gates were shut and only half the desks were manned.

I recently dropped off family only to discover there was a £1 drop off fee. It took no more than 10 seconds to drop them off. At £1 per 10 seconds, that works out to £360 per hour. Unfortunately, I have to pick my family up again on their return, otherwise I would not go anywhere near that dreadful place. The public must vote with their feet and shun Luton Airport.

Had to use Luton last week. No change in customer care whatsoever. The place can only be described as an utter shambles from start to finish. What will it be like when the Olympics start? I'd hate to be a visitor to this country using Luton airport then.

It used to be a pleasure to use, not any more. It is now possibly the worst airport in the world. Having read several comments it seems this is not an isolated or exaggerated view. Arrived from Madrid at 10.20. It was well after midnight I managed to get home. The queue for passport control took 90 minutes to shuffle through. My taxi was an extra £20. I would urge air travellers to use another airport and think about the overall costs when travelling with a so called budget airline. The pity is that Easyjet left on time and arrived on time.

Passed through the airport four times in the last six days. Compared to last time, there were no traffic hold- ups and security was a breeze. A little slower on the returns, but nothing to worry about. A reasonably pleasant experience overall.

Arrived by car (no public transport to get there reasonably on time) to find you had to pay to drop off - I didn't have money, it was below zero and I was dropping off my wife and 5 and 7 year old - because of the queues we didn't have time to go back to some earlier free drop off. That's a 40 pound fine. Security was a hassle and the girls and my wife go out to the Ryanair flight. They are made to wait outside on the apron for over 20 minutes. Pay a premium up front to take another airline and use another airport. In my case it would have been substantially cheaper.

Blighted by the most surly and aggressive security staff this overgrown, over-capacity collection of tin sheds is bereft of any concept of customer service. Security and immigration queues are frequently horrendous and premium charges apply at every turn: including getting anywhere near the terminal or through security in a reasonable time. Don't be fooled by the "London" prefix either: it's miles away. I go out of my way to avoid this awful airport.

Total chaos in passport control on arrival. Plane landed on time, did the usual lugging of cases to find only 2 desks open and a queue into the far distance doubling back on itself. There was not a single official around to speak with. It was at least 45 mins before the queue began to inch forward when it appeared several more border control people came back to work and a couple of officials started waving their arms around as if they had only just woken up to the chaos. We finally got through after about an hour. Why were millions spent on the epassport system gates and they are not used to speed things up? Why is there not a separate lane just for UK citizens? I will do everything possible to avoid Luton airport in future.

If you are travelling on an early flight from Luton Airport on a Saturday morning allow at east 3hrs to check in and get through security. If you want to relax in the departure lounge and not have to run to gate allow even more time. Even better - use another Airport!

A terrible place to fly from and needs serious improvements. However as most passengers are UK residents who choose to fly budget or charter airlines, they are not going to. The main problem is that Luton was designed to handle at most a couple of million passengers a year. It now handles nearly ten million. Therefore things like access are a major problem. The only road to the terminal is a single lane road, which is often gridlocked. I've not taken public transport there, so can't comment. There is no rail station on the airport. The short stay car park is overpriced and falling apart. It is difficult to find trolleys, which you have to pay for. There is no cover, so you may have to walk 1/4 mile in the rain. The terminal has all the facilities one would expect an airport to have. Security was quick and trouble free. In departures there is only a limited number of shops and restaurants. The only reason I choose Luton is that it's the only airport to have budget flights to the destination I require. I wouldn't recommend it. It is very dated.

We arrived with plenty of time, trapped in that grinder they call security (4 open out of 10 on Sunday evening), our flight called for last passengers, we were directed to the so-called fast desk, we ran only to find out that the flight has left. Even if the boards had shown the correct gate, I am sure we could not have got there on time. The very routine approach from staff was to get us out of the secure zone, purchase a new ticket, and show us a hotel list while we wait for tomorrow's flight. Even as we strolled through without a queue on a quiet Monday, I noticed the time interval between your go to gate message and take off is suspiciously short. The lack of planning and basic convenience of departing from here is more than laughable: I suspect it is intended to hinder you and cause you additional costs. It appears to me that the airport company, EasyJet and the local hotels earn more revenue during the chaos. Avoid if possible, pay whatever is needed to go somewhere else.

Luton is a dreadful airport if you arrive by car, have to check-in at a desk, have hand luggage, want something to eat or drink, want some degree of comfort. If you are happy to stand around in a boarding room/gate, forego drink etc, then it's okay. I wonder if airport management read these forums. They will argue they handle 10 million passengers a year and these gripes are in the minority. However, I am fairly sure that many do not complain simply because the complaints fall on deaf ears. Britain has never been famous for good customer service but Luton airport fails to provide anything but a rudimentary service.

Had to use Luton Airport last week and met the same old problems with security going out. Long queues again and this time was not allowed through wearing my jeans which were studded fashion jeans. Had to remove my jeans and boots for xray purposes which left me standing there semi naked. Long passport queues on return next day. Next time I fly I will use Stansted.

This airport has now become a major embarrassment for travellers. December 2011, my wife and I were forced to buy a Security-Fast-Track pass at an extra total cost of £12 as the security staff were incapable of processing passengers quick enough through security channels. The queue was backed up beyond the escalators leading up to the security area. Like most travellers we arrived in plenty of time for our flight but would have missed our flight if we had not proceeded through the Fast-Track-Pass method which incidentally also had a lengthy queue. On returning from our holiday on January 2012 at 21.15 we had to queue for well over one hour to pass through UK Border control as only 4 EU Passport desks were open. The queues were massive containing many frustrated and angry people. The electronic passport system was also not operational. I really dread to think what it will be like during the Olympic Games. Luton airport will no longer be our preferred airport as the last three visits have been dreadful, although we have further to travel we will use Stansted Airport for future flights.

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