Luton Airport

✅ Verified Review | So, reading other reviews I was a little sceptical of using Luton airport for the first time. Overall, there is nothing particularly special about this airport that is housed within a glorified tin shed. Basic facilities and a average range of shops and each, but consider this is the London hub for no frills airlines so not as developed. Under refurb at the moment so may be better when finished. I slept at the airport overnight before early morning departure (as did many others) but be warned there are no benches to sleep on, no real quiet or dark areas so be prepared to kip in a corner of the terminal.

We left Stevenage about 6.30 and arrived at Luton by hire car at 6.55. The driver used a back route in but there was no queue on the main route. After a few minutes wait we checked our baggage in and proceeded through a security. The display said about 3 minutes wait and we were about that. By 7.15 we had reached flight departure side. I am currently sitting in Kitchen and Bar where there are 128 seats 28 of which are occupied. In the main seating area there are about 300 seats I guess which are about 30% occupied. Toast and jam is 1.99. Tea 1.99. There are a fair selection of shops including a large WH Smiths. We were recommended to go flight side when I asked because of better shops and I agree. I do not know if it is particularly quiet at the moment but flights are leaving every five minutes. So, while this is not Heathrow or Stansted, it is not the smallest airport I have been to (Inverness is where we are going). The only reason I would not recommend this airport is because I don't want it to grow. Particularly not into the Hertfordshire countryside.

A very unpleasant experience all round. I echo the sentiments of previous reviewers regarding the parking, it's beyond a joke. We used the services of an off-site parking company, thinking it would be more convenient. Through no fault of their own, the parking company also have to comply with the 15 minute rule (get in and get out as quickly as you can or pay even more money). We still had to traipse a long way from the terminal to the drop off point and wait without shelter, in the rain for our car to arrive. I think we paid in the region of £60 for the privilege. Once through to the departure gate, there is nowhere to sit, there are simply no seats. We queueing travellers were informed quite forcefully by a member of staff, marching up and down our straggling lines, that if we didn't have our passports open on the right page, then we would be denied boarding. Easyjet is a budget airline and need to turn their aircraft around quickly but treating customers so brusquely was completely uncalled for, unnecessary and ill mannered. We could have booked the same destination with British Airways from Heathrow for a little more, and that's what we'll be doing in future. I can't think of a good reason to return to horrible Luton Airport.

✅ Verified Review | My advice to prospective travellers is to avoid Luton Airport if you can. It has expanded far beyond its capacity to cope with the demand it encourages. I have just missed a flight because of the time it took – about half-an-hour – to go through security. No doubt I could have anticipated delays and arrived earlier, but my point is the wretched experience of the airport itself. Passengers arriving in vastly overwhelming numbers are herded through a long, slow quasi-industrial process. It is dehumanising. Luton is not so much an airport as a factory. Finding someone to help with my problem also proved very difficult: once you are through security, you are in the world of consumerism in which customer service is barely obtainable. Why, moreover, does the airport charge £2.50 for use of the drop-off zone? It would appear that money matters here far more than the travelling public. As I live in Bedford, Luton has the advantage of proximity, but I will think twice in future.

The appearance, service and facilities at Luton Airport are all appalling. Myself and my wife arrived at the mid stay car park at 04:00 and we waited approx. 5 mins for the transit bus. Arrival at the terminal we went through border control and then through security with some ease, but depending on the queue chosen meant different clothing had to be removed. Once through security you enter what can only be described as a tin hut with nowhere near enough seats and many of these were single chairs which had obviously been sought from some other building. One has to enter the 'heart' of the tin building in order to try and identify where the gates were. We went to a pub type restaurant for breakfast where we queued behind one other couple (the restaurant was full). When we left the approx. 30 mins later, about 5am there was a queue going past the entrance of the lounge and blocking the entrance to the toilets. For the toilets my wife went first, it took her approx. 25 minutes in the ladies queue, then I went, about 10 mins queue. I asked a lady wearing Hi viz if there were other toilets as I could see no other signs, she replied that there are others nearer the gates, (at this point we didn't know our gate numbers). I can see there are refurbishments going on, but we travelled via Luton airport some 8 weeks earlier and there doesn't seem to be any improvements, I'm sorry to say like the majority of the other reviews I can only give a mark of 1 out of 10, it is a disgrace, what must foreign travellers think of Luton?

This should not even be referred to as an Airport. It's a large shed with worse facilities than regional airports I've been to in Greece and Spain. The train/bus transport link is a joke. The train to Luton Parkway is fine however the bus is an overcrowded mess run by rude staff. How many people can they possibly try to crush onto 1 bus. How about just investing in more buses or better yet a shuttle train service like Gatwick or Stansted. The security always has massive queues as does the immigration hall when you arrive. Once through security there is never anywhere to sit and relax. Just thousands of people crowded into a small departure hall with very limited food and drink options. This is by far the worst of all of London's airports and should be avoided at all costs.

I actually had to pick my daughter who was flying in from Lisbon, the short term car-parking is an absolute joke, cars going all over the place as they are building a multi storey car park. There were no clear markings and arrows sending cars in conflicting directions. I eventually managed to secure a place. I then proceeded to the arrivals which had 2 small screens and a large crowd gathered around trying to find the flight they were looking for. There was no attendants or flight desk. So I walked to departures where I managed to get someone who did work there and they tried their mobile phone but didn't have any success and said that my daughters flight must have been cancelled. So after a 3 hour wait a car parking charge of £18.00 a complete waste of 4 hours of my time. I still don't know where my daughter is. I have been to airports all over the world and quite frankly this is easily the worst airport I have been to.

Utter chaos this morning (27 April). After almost an hour in security, got to the gate 20 minutes before the easyJet flight but it was closed. Other airlines appeared to be keeping gates open to allow passengers a little more time. Now my bag, supposedly taken off the flight, cannot be found. Dreadful customer service, no one from the airport around and certainly not even a hint of apology. I now have to pay for an alternative flight. Dreadful experience today.

Traveled over to Madrid (22/4/16 at 5am) with my elderly parents for the birthday of my daughter, so getting there was critical and we arrived well before departure, however had to endure a 45 minute queue in security. Then a further 15 minute walk/run to our departure gate, by which time the gate had closed, I had my elderly parents with me who aren't too mobile and were not able to run to get to the gate in time. So missed the flight and ended up queuing with the rest of the passengers that missed similar flights. We were told to wait at gate 22 and would be transferred onto another easyJet flight leaving at 1pm, so after thirty minutes proceeded down to customer services. We then queued for another hour whilst they dealt with passengers and were told we would receive free flights onward to our journey that same day. We finally reached the desk and by which time where told they could only offer us flights to Madrid from Bristol airport. In addition they were very rude and unhelpful. So with this news then left to go back home, disappointed and fed up and my parents were aching from standing up for so long. I did look for seating but nothing was available. Before leaving we discussed our experiences with others and seems they have had similar issues. Also whilst at the airport would like to confirm the following maintenance ongoing: Grounds being renovated, departure entrance missing/undergoing maintenance. Wifi - unable to be used. Coming Soon? Easyjet Customer service booth also under maintenance. Large Security room moved from upstairs to smaller room downstairs to focus on 'retail'. In conclusion a terrible experience. I have taken many flights and never missed any of them.

✅ Verified Review | Well not sure where to start, landed at Luton airport flying from Sofia, Sunday afternoon (24/4/2016). Wheelchair assistance was booked well in advance. My elderly father and myself who are both disabled waited for wheelchair assistance, a woman came and asked if my father could walk down the stairs, she was not happy when I said no and we waited 30 mins until the assistance vehicle arrived. We eventually disembarked from the vehicle to go through boarder control, guess what no wheelchairs, so had to wait another 10mins for them to bring one to use. To top this off I personally had to push him (I myself use a walking stick). I managed to go through border control, then had to go and find our luggage, our carousel had already finished and I found our suitcases standing in the middle of the departure lounge unattended.