Luton Airport Escorts

London Luton Airport (IATA: LTN, ICAO: EGGW) (previously called Luton International Airport)[3] is an international airport located 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) east[1] of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is 30.5 NM (56.5 km; 35.1 mi) north[1] ofCentral London. The airport is 2 mi (3.2 km) from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway. It is the fourth largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, and is one of London's five international airports along with London City Airport.
In 2008 over 10 million passengers passed through the airport in a single year for the first time, however passenger numbers declined by 10.4% to 9,120,546 in 2009, making it the fifth busiest airport in the UK. The airport serves as a base for EasyJet, Monarch Airlines, Thomson Airways,Ryanair and Wizz Air.[4] The vast majority of the routes served are within Europe, although there are some charter and scheduled routes to destinations in Northern Africa and Asia.
An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by the Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood.[3] During the Second World War it was a base for Royal Air Force fighters. The topography of the Luton area, situated where the valley of the River Lea cuts its way through the north-east end of the Chiltern Hills, has influenced the location of the airport.[citation needed] The airport occupies a hill-top location, with a drop-off about 40 m (130 ft) at the western end of the runway[5][6][7]
Following the war the land was returned to the local council who continued activity at the airport as a commercial operation, providing a base for charter airlines such as Autair (which went on to become Court Line), Euravia (now Thomson Airways, following previous growth as Britannia Airways) and Monarch Airlines. In 1949, English Electric set up a missile development site on the northern slope of the airport, which when closed in the 1960s became the base for Carass Airways Catering.[citation needed] In 1972, Luton Airport was the most profitable airport in the country. It suffered a severe setback in August 1974 when a major package holiday operator,Clarksons, and its in-house airline, Court Line (which also operated local bus services), went bankrupt.