• 0800 0710 710
• for instant assistance

• Home
• About Us
• Office Space News
• Register Space
• Agent Referrals
• Contact Us

Serviced Office Space to Rent near Luton Airport & Commercial Offices to Let near Luton Airport, Bedfordshire

London Luton Airport, previously known as Luton International Airport, is one of London’s five international airports although located to the east of the town centre of Luton in the county of Bedfordshire.  The airport is approximately 56km or 35 miles north of Central London and a short distance from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway.  London Luton Airport is the fourth largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport and London City Airport.  During the year, 2008 saw passenger figures go over 10 million in a single year for the first time; however, 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 low cost airlines and most of the routes served are within Europe, although there are some charter airline routes to intercontinental destinations.

In 1938, an airport was opened on the current site by the Secretary of State for Air and it became a base for Royal Air Force fighter planes during World War II.  The land was returned to the local council at the end of the war and the airport continued life as a commercial operation providing a base for charter airlines.  In 1949, English Electric set up a missile development site on the northern slope of the airport, which finally closed in the 1960's.  By 1972, Luton Airport was the most profitable airport in the country but suffered a severe setback in August 1974 when a major package holiday operator, Clarkson’s, and its in-house airline, Court Line, which also operated local bus services, was declared bankrupt.

The next 15 years saw a process of rebuilding, including the opening of a new international terminal in 1985 and in 1990, the airport was branded as London Luton Airport to re-establish the airport's link and accessibility to London.  A further commercial setback occurred in 1991 when Ryanair, transferred its base of operations to Stansted.  Later in the 1990's, several new companies began charter and low cost scheduled flights and EasyJet in particular made Luton its base.  In August 1997, to fund an £80 million extension of the Luton Airport, the council issued a 30 year management contract to a public private partnership consortium, London Luton Airport Operations Limited, which was headed by Barclays Bank and later sold on to TBI plc.  London Luton Airport Operations Limited was acquired in early 2005 by Airport Concessions Development Limited, a company owned by two Spanish companies; namely, Albertis, a European infrastructure provider; and the other Aena Internacional, the international business arm of the Spanish national airport and air traffic control organisation.

The airport remains in municipal ownership, owned by Luton Borough Council but managed by the private sector London Luton Airport Operations Limited.  An indicator of the importance of the airport to the economy of the city of Luton is that the city is reported to have the highest number of taxicabs per head of population in the UK.  The airport has become even more critical to the future of Luton given the recent uncertainty of the long-term future of the Vauxhall Motors factory.

The main feature of the development phase in 1998 was a £40 million terminal made from aluminum and glass, based on an original design by Foster and Partners and officially opened in November 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.  It housed 60 check-in desks, baggage and flight information systems along with a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars.  In September 2004, development work started on a major project to transfer departures from the International Terminal Building built in 1985, to the previously unused first floor of the 1999 Terminal Building.  This new area featured a spectacular vaulted ceiling, and was completed with the new terminal, but intended to lie unused until required.  The new departure hall opened on schedule in July 2005.

In 2004, the airport management announced support for government plans to expand the airport facilities to include a full-length runway and a new terminal.  This stance was met with considerable local opposition on many grounds including noise pollution, traffic concerns and that various sites, including Someries Castle, a Scheduled Monument, would be threatened by the expansion.  In 2007, the owners of Luton Airport announced their decision to abandon the expansion plans due to financial reasons.

For those of a certain age, London Luton Airport is affectionately remembered for the famous Campari advert featuring Lorraine Chase with the punch line "Were you truly wafted here from paradise?". " Na Lut'n Airport".  It is also widely known because of the Airline and Luton Airport television series.  Luton also supports a football team Luton Town known as the Hatters a reference to Luton’s history as a centre of hat manufacturing.

Luton Airport is close to the  M1 motorway giving access to London to the south and northwards towards Leeds.  The M1 also connects to the M25 motorway effectively giving access to the whole of London and the other London Airports.  There is a short stay car park adjacent to the terminal, together with medium and long term on site car parks linked to the terminal by shuttle buses.  Pre-booked off airport parking is also available from several independent operators.  In 1999, Luton Airport Parkway Railway Station was built to serve the airport and is on the Midland Main Line.  First Capital Connect is the principal operator and East Midlands Trains offer semi-fast services calling hourly going south to London St Pancras International and north to Leicester.  A pay shuttle bus service connects the station to the airport, which is a distance of just over a mile.  Local buses connect Luton Airport with Luton town centre and other nearby places.  There are also direct bus services to London and a bus link to Stansted Airport.

Although London Luton Airport itself does not have much in the way of independent commercial development to offer other than for the aviation industry and its service industries, the immediate areas of Luton and Dunstable in Bedfordshire has much to offer in respects of commercial offices to let.  With their accessibility to excellent  transport connections, the area has developed a comprehensive range of offices for all business needs; whether you require managed office space, flexible serviced offices to rent, conventional offices to let, virtual offices or even the use of a meeting room as and when needed.  For help in identifying and securing the most competitively priced deal on office space to rent near London Luton Airport or commercial offices in this transport hub, please contact the UK's leading office broker via http://freeofficesearch.co.uk or call our Luton office directly on 01582 788 737.  We guarantee that a member of our team with knowledge of the local Luton Airport area will be able to save you money on your office rental.  Call us today and speak with an office space advisor for free, instant and impartial advice.