Luton airport chases away old image

LUTON airport is finally casting off the vestiges of its reputation as the package holiday hub made famous by actress Lorraine Chase and her Campari ads in the 1970s.

Latest figures reveal that the airport is booming under the patronage of easyJet, and increasingly Ryanair, but that charter airline usage has collapsed by 66% over the last three months.

In its first full trading quarter under its new Spanish owner Abertis, which bought airport group TBI for £750m in the autumn, Luton reported passenger numbers of 1.8m in the first three months of the year, an increase of 25%. Over the past 12 months, Luton has carried 8m passengers, a fifth more than in the previous year.

However, while passengers flying on low-cost airlines rose by 34% in the quarter, those on charter airline dived from 115,000 last year to 38,000. Finance director Caroline Price said that while seasonal factors were at work, charter flights in any case now account for only 2% of Luton's annual throughput. 'We are not Lorraine Chase's airport of choice any more,' she said.

The group said its Belfast airport also increased passenger numbers, by 18%, in the quarter, but numbers dived by almost a fifth at Cardiff.

Price said Cardiff airport has been troubled by operational problems at main user bmibaby, part of bmi British Midland.