Luton Airport

Our plane from Skiathos was delayed by 3 hours, because there was a problem at Luton with the outbound flight due to a shortage of ground staff! We then eventually boarded and flew to Luton, to be greeted by only one luggage lorry, which had to return 2/3 times to get the luggage. We waited for a long period of time due to this. This is not what I would expect from a major British airport.

I can see the point of speedy boarding if departing Luton Airport on easyJet. Having said that the snake queue for bag drop, although it was spilling out onto the terminal concourse, was quite efficient. Security queue was about 15 minutes, and didn't then leave us much time to browse the main departure lounge, which I feel is now too small to accommodate the number of passengers passing through. Had to queue to board, but that was OK. I should say this was 18th July, first big weekend of the summer. The experience could have been worse, but there is room for expansion for retail and dining post security.

International arrival from Malaga - get to terminal - steps. Drab walk along what seemed like a school corridor. To brighten it up there were large pictures of iconic London, with a poster at the end of the corridor saying welcome to London. Well we know it's not London, and Luton should not pretend otherwise. Four belts for arriving baggage which is a big improvement, and timely delivery of bags. Electronic Passport Gates a bonus. There always seems to be some improvement works going on at Luton, but very few improvements.

A budget airport offering low cost flights that does not have the infrastructure to meet the volume of people using it. There is a constant revision of the layout, including the drop off zone that adds stress to your visit. All these factors contribute to a long queue for checking in your baggage and an even longer queue through security. Herded like sheep through the runs in a room that's clearly too small for purpose. I have never missed a flight until this morning, arriving with just hand luggage and my 20 x 20 clear bag full of hope. The staff I spoke to after failing to run like Usain Bolt for gate 17 were polite and helpful, directing me to gather with my growing fellow breathless passengers. I'm not asking for pretty painted walls and toilets wafting me scents, I just want an efficient journey from the entrance to my plane seat, 16F.

Luton is undoubtedly another UK Airport which is rather on the small side compared to passenger numbers. Me and my family were travelling with EasyJet who state you arrive two hours before which is more than sufficient but being that we had an early flight and Bag Drops can be a touch busy early in the morning we arrived 3 hours before. The BagDrop queue was very reasonable (10-20 mins) and if running late EasyJet do help by allowing you to use the flight closures desks. Next step was security and while your never going to impress many if people set of detectors they have to be checked. Security queue was under 10 minutes with lots of staff on hand to help. The departure lounge is very small (limited seating and facilities). There is a good range of outlets but simply not enough. The airport (especially in the morning) display your gate from around an hour before allowing for the time to walk to the gate. We used Gate 17 which had an aircraft on stand. However be aware an increasing number of flights do use remote stands served by buses. Upon arrival at gate 17 the agents were efficient in checking boarding passes and moving us forward to waiting to board the aircraft. Boarding began around 30 minutes before departure meaning by 0650 on a 0710 departure we were all on board and ready. A minor issue we had was getting a take off slot which meant we didn't take off until 0750 however we were helped in our journey in shortening that small delay. The airport did a great job in getting us through quickly but do be ready (£2 for luggage trolleys, £2.50 for 15 minute drop off, £1 for 2 plastic bags) and ensure if your using car parks you leave plenty of time or only send one member of your party to drop the car as buses back to terminal in peak times as buses are often full so you may endure a long wait. Luton is progressing and hopefully with development can become a better airport. The main advice would be to ensure you leave enough time for you this ranges from if you need time to drop baggage, security and car parking. (Passengers travelling with Ryanair leave extra time as today there were very large queues for check in despite there only being a handful of flights.

I’ve traveled extensively over the last 30 years through business and Luton used to be my favorite airport. Over the last 5 years or so it has become the very worst travel experience anyone could encounter. I didn't think it could get any worse but it has. In that time the owners have become money grabbing to the extreme, charging for everything from luggage trolleys, passenger drop off and anything else they can rip the public off for whilst downgrading the customer service. I’ve just come back from dropping my son there and had to queue for 90 minutes just to check-in one bag. The Check in system is an absolute farce. People have now worked out that all they need do is turn up late for their flight and they will get called to the front. Meaning that passengers who turn up on time are asked to wait and let them through, they should go back to designating a check in to a particular flight. The short stay car park is a disgrace, it's outrageously expensive and full of potholes. After having to queue for 90 minutes at checking in I had to queue another 15 minutes just to pay the parking ticket, which amounted to £14 for dropping my son of. This airport doesn't care about delivering a reasonable service to the customer; just how much money they can con them out of. To be honest I'd rather pay the extra and travel from LHR. Is it any surprise that Luton Airport website doesn’t have a review page? This Airport is not only a disgrace but it’s a disgrace to the country considering how many foreign travelers pass through.

I hate airport security usually - you tend to find the staff are rude, however I had a very pleasant experience at Luton. Despite having to borrow a clear plastic bag (as I had no pound coins on me for the dispensers) and being daft enough to wear a dress with a non-detachable metal belt the security women was wonderful to me! I got frisked and had to take my shoes off but she laughed and joked with me to put me at ease.

This airport has been on my worst list for many years and it continues up until yesterday. With the escalators to departures not working ("due to a safety issue" and that there was "no one to man it"), toilets partially closed, baggage store facilities not up to scratch, no where to sit, fans blasting cool air around walkways due to lack of air conditioning and air flow, and now with £100 million building work being advertised in the previous arrivals area no one has a clue where the new arrivals section is. I told 5 people in the space of 15 minutes where they had to go since I was sitting outside the boxed off and massively advertised new arrivals, £100 million spent billboards. I found a general awkwardness and arrogance of the managers and staff and an unwillingness to listen to any kind of complaint or questions about the airports general running on this particular day and was in fact shadowed by a police officer after I had confronted staff members about their shambolic running of the facility! Do I not pay the airport tax to use this airport? If I had a choice to not use this airport I would do in a heartbeat. If you can avoid this place do so!

Filthy airport with extremely long queues for check-in. I think if you go from the start of the queue to the end it would take at least 1 hour of waiting. Whether you are flying out or into London, go with Heathrow! Luton is a low priced airport with extremely bad customer service and conditions.

Congested, badly planned, dirty, overpriced, in every category from the moment you arrive until you step onto the plane. Even though there are half a dozen airports in the South, it obviously never occurs to the management of this shambles that customer satisfaction leads to good business. This was my first flight from Luton and will certainly be my last. The reviews on this site tell it all and I wish I had read them before I subjected my wife and myself to the corporate humiliation these nitwits conspire to impose on their hapless victims.