Category: Luton Airport

Luton Airport is situated on the edge of the town of Luton in the county of Bedfordshire around 40km north of London. It is just 3km from junction 10a of the M1 motorway which connects to London to the south and Leeds and the M25 to the north. Luton Airport handled over 9.42 million passengers last year and acts as a hub for a number of low cost airlines with most of its passengers heading to European destinations. You can find full details of all the destinations which can be reached from here and the ground handling agents for each airline in our guide to flights at Luton Airport.

If you are flying from Luton Airport there are about 60 check in check in desks straight in front of you in the departures hall which runs the length of the terminal building. You will find a good selection of shops, bars, cafeterias and restaurants both before and after security. We have put together a table of all the retail outlets at Luton Airport with details of where they are located and what they sell. If you want a meal or a snack while waiting for your flight our guide to restaurants tells you what is available. Our departures section also provides details of the executive lounges and live flight departures information.

If you are leaving your car at the airport there are short, medium and long term parking facilities available. If you use the drop off zone at the airport you are only allowed a maximum stay of 10 minutes and you must not leave the vehicle during this time or it will be removed. If you park for longer than 10 minutes you will be charged. It is easier to use the short stay car park if you are picking someone up and you can check our car parking information for full details of tariffs and where the parks are located including off site parking

If you arrive at Luton then when you have cleared customs and get into the the arrivals area you will see a Travelex where you can change your money and a shop where you can buy newspapers and snacks. If you are meeting someone then we provide details of live flight arrivals. If you want a coffee and a sandwich before you set off to your final destination there is a Costa Cafe and a Marks & Spencer Simply Food here, as well as a Travel Centre where you can book your onward transport including bus, coach and rail tickets or make a hotel reservation. If you leave something on the flight or your luggage does not arrive with you, then you should contact your airline handling agent, and you can find contact details for them on our flights information page.

If you are hiring a car from Luton Airport then four of the major car hire companies are based on the site. The hire car centre is a short ride away from the terminal building with a free shuttle bus operated by NCP making regular trips to take you there. The car hire companies at the airport are Avis, Europcar and Hertz. Or if you want to travel in style we also provide details of local chauffeur and limousine hire agencies.

Four taxi companies are licensed to operate from the airport and use the taxi rank which is in the drop off zone outside the terminal building. You can pre-book a taxi and find contact details in our guide to taxis at Luton Airport.

If you prefer to travel by public transport then there is a good choice of bus, coach and train services operating out of the airport. National Express Coaches run to destinations further afield and other London airports. For more details of timetables and routes check our information and links to bus services at Luton Airport.

There is not a railway station at the airport but Luton Parkway is five minutes away offering regular connections to Central London and other parts of the UK. There is a free shuttle bus from the airport to the station and our guide to Luton Airport Trains provides details or links to the various routes and timetables.

Our general information section tells you everything else you need to know when travelling through Luton Airport including details of the weather with a forecast for the next 5 or 10 days, facilities for passengers with special needs and where you can change your money at Luton Airport.

London southend AIRPORT PARKING –

a low-fee airport parking at a cosy airport

London Southend Airport may be less known internationally, but this airport is treasured locally. While it was the third-busiest airport around London in the 1650’s, Southend has lost some of its previous importance; however, this newly renovated and cosy airport is highly appreciated by the almost 1 million passengers who flew from it in 2014. Instead of the huge halls of larger airports, Southend has cosy cafés, a friendly service and fast check-in and security procedures. Travellers are mainly couples and families, as Southend offers low-price to very cheap vacation or city-visit destinations to Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia and Slovenia – and many new destinations are added every year.

An opportunity for low-cost flights…

From Southend you may take a 3-day round trip to  Dublin for around £40 only! To most European destinations you can find round trip flights from £125 to £200, and even one week or two week vacation flights to certain destinations for under £250!. And if you are available for a trip anytime and have the leisure to search on the Internet, you may find tickets with up to 75% reduction!  So why not fly from London Southend? Even informed business travellers may reduce their costs by flying directly to their European destination from Southend.

If you enjoy short trips, to change your environment within hours, or like discovering charming European cities, you definitely should have a look at the flights leaving from London Southend. And if you would like to visit London from other countries, a good choice may be as well to land in Southend.

…And cheap parking fees!

That being said, Southend Airport also offers a further advantage: the airport car parks are very close to the terminal, secure and well organized, and the best part is that they are the cheapest of any other major London airport. London Southend is located just 40 miles South-East from the centre of London, and is easily accessible by car.

London southend short-stay parking

The short-stay parking at London Southend Airport is located just opposite to the terminal, so you can conveniently walk to the entrance – even with family, small children, or many heavy suitcases. Specially marked and easily accessible slots are also available for people with disabilities.

The first 5 minutes of parking are free of charge, so that you can easily drop off leaving passengers or collect them at their arrival.

The prices for this parking are competitive. Below are the regular prices, valid if you just drive up to the parking. If you book on-line in advance, you may obtain interesting price reductions.

The parking is limited to one visit per day per vehicle.

London southend Airport Long Stay parking

The large safe and secured long-stay parking is also located close to the terminal entrance, and doesn’t need shuttle buses. You can just walk to the terminal and check in.

And best of all, there is just one attractive flat-rate per day or every part thereof: every day will cost you only £10.00. And here again, you can obtain a discount by booking in advance.

With those attractive prices, the London Southend Airport parks are also ideally suited for people coming to London by car, but want to leave it at a secure place while they are visiting the town. You can be assured that your car is in good hands while you tour the amazing attractions of London; just leave your car at the parking, and take the train at Southend Airport to the centre of London. Enjoy your visit!

How to spend the time you are waiting at the airport

In order to provide organized and secure flights for the millions of travellers passing through the World’s airports every year, passengers are asked to arrive at the airport two or three hours before their flight takes off. Transfers between one flight and the other also may last several hours. If passengers didn’t mentally prepare themselves for this waiting time, it can be quite frustrating to wait for several hours after having checked in and passed security checks..
There are additional challenges if you are travelling with children, as you have to keep them busy.

Fortunately, many airports are prepared for these events, and offer a wide range of services, entertainment, shopping opportunities and cafés or restaurants you can access during your waiting time. Just be careful not to miss your flight….

Visit an art gallery…

Let’s have a look at the many ways Heathrow Airport is offering relaxation and entertainment to their passengers while they are waiting for their flight.

Heathrow Airport displays one of the World’s only on-airport art galleries at Terminal 5. An ideal opportunity to discover the variety of artwork by renowned artists, and also produced by young artists starting their career. At the Art Gallery your time will go by in a fly…

Relaxation and massage!

How about relaxation, massage, make-up and even manicure? At all Heathrow Airport terminals – and in many international airports – you can get a fast or more extensive massage to relax your muscles before flight. And if you want to look like a movie star, you can even have a specialist giving you make-up and manicure. If you are a man, you might prefer to get your shoes shined… a free service is provided. And the best, these astounding services are free of charge….

Some airports even offer a yoga studio, fitness equipment or ping-pong tables – at Singapore Airport you can find a swimming pool and Jacuzzi. While you can go ice-skating at South Korea’s Seoul Airport, Hong Kong’s airport even offers an on-airport golf course! You may use your spare time to get common vaccinations – like flu vaccination; you may even have your teeth whitened.  So get a health shot…

While Dubai Airport impresses through its wonderful inner decoration, if you travel through Kuala Lumpur you can visit the rainforest – right inside the airport!

Have a nap!

Travelling is tiring, especially if you travel through long distances. You may get a solution even to that problem. Many airports now offer comfortable seats, in which you can relax or have a nap. At Heathrow Terminal 3, you can even rent a small Yotel room (for a minimum period of 3 hours), but only during daytime.

Go shopping

You may also like to go shopping in the luxury duty-free shops, or just have a look at the many items around. Think about loved ones, friends and colleagues to whom you could bring a souvenir from your trip… You could even give some to people at the hotels or places you visit! They will be delighted…

Or play games

Why not choose to play a game. If you travel with other people, a card game, board game or guessing game may be fun, even more so if children travel with you. Some airports also offer gaming stations – for free. What about a “flash mob?” These flash assemblies of people at a certain point of the airport – often performing a short theatrical movement and quickly dissolving – is an amusing way to distract the crowds. Why not be delighted by a “flash mob” done – let’s say – by beautiful stewardesses? You may even participate in one… And can you guess what Las Vegas Airport offers to its travellers? A casino with slot machines of course!

Yes, of course, you are at a busy airport. There are several coffee shops at Heathrow giving you a view on the runways. Don’t miss that exceptional opportunity…

Maybe you feel hungry (or thirsty) and planned to fill your waiting time having a good dish or sitting at the bar.

Another entertaining activity is to observe people from all-over the World passing by. Try to guess where they are from, or observe their clothing and behaviour – you may guess something about their culture, or try to imagine their personal story, their profession, and the aim of their travel… This is also a fun activity if you travel with children, and gives you the opportunity to teach them something about other regions of the World.

Entertain your children

As a similar activity, you may look at the departure board and locate the many towns that appear. Did you know all of them? If not, you can look them up through the Internet. This as well is a curious activity to practice with your accompanying children. Similarly, you can take a seat overlooking the airplane traffic and let them guess the various plane types. By the way, there are some excellent books to keep children busy during your journey (but you might have to buy them beforehand). You can order them online through the following link:

http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~AB~ABHT~4167/50-things-to-spot-at-the-airport.aspx

Some airports also offer a supervised play area for young children.

Are you travelling alone? That may be an opportunity to know new people… If you spot another lonely traveller, you can start a conversation with a friendly “Hello”. You might meet interesting people, and possibly even become friends!

If you still hesitate, you can just use your smart phone or tablet to surf the web – most international airports offer free Wi-Fi connections. Or use your time to read a book or a newspaper, maybe you don’t benefit often from this opportunity.

Take a city tour…

You may have a long transit time until your connecting flight; but don’t be desperate, you may even participate in a city tour! This wonderful idea has been turned into reality by Utah, Istanbul and Singapore airports; they offer a free visit of their city in their own buses for passengers in transit through their place. Singapore even offers a day- and a night-tour… Not only is it an ideal means of entertaining their travellers, they might easily be convinced to come back to their town next time!

Great future!

Singapore’s Changi Airport also stuns its passengers with a 4-storey slide, a cactus garden, a butterfly garden with more than 1000 species, a free cinema as well as free computers and famous TV program displays. A new feature is LG’s “Social Tree”, a large round screen with consoles all around where people can “video chat” in real time. And that’s not all! The airport plans a new glass-covered 134’000 square meter complex, with gardens, shopping and restaurants – but the main attraction will be a 40 meters high water fountain, which will feature laser light illumination and synchronized light and sound shows! This fabulous attraction should open in 2018.

With all these activities you can do at the World’s airports, you will even regret the waiting time until you board your next flight is not longer….

Luton AIRPORT PARKING – CONVENIENT AND LOW-COST

London Luton is the airport that gives you access to inexpensive flights to more than 100 countries, covering all of Europe, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Morocco. Luton also recently started direct flights to New York in the United States of America. The Luton website gives you ideas on where and how you can plan your holidays at a low cost, and suggests packages and extras.

As from Luton airport you can also fly directly to smaller airports all-over Europe, it offers an excellent opportunity to business travellers who need to fly to towns other than the largest cities.  Furthermore, at Luton you can also find private aviation companies focusing on private business jet flights and charter.

In order to allow you to travel reassured that your car is awaiting your return in a safe and appropriate location,  Luton Airport gives you the opportunity of parking directly on the extensive parking lots on and adjacent to the airport grounds. Furthermore it offers very price-efficient solutions, so that you can save on your vacation and also on the parking fees. At Luton as well you can choose among various options and services to accommodate your parking needs on one of the 15 available parking lots.

Luton short term parking –  on airport

This parking is located on the airport grounds, just a short walk from the terminal entry. It is ideal for busy business travellers, if you want to drop off or pick up passengers, visit the airport or travel with family and much luggage. It is secured by a perimeter fence, CCTV monitoring and regular patrols, and also has special parking bays for disabled persons.

The Luton Short Term parking fees start at £4.00 for half an hour, £9.00 for one hour and £37.00 for 24 hours. But if you book in advance online, it may offer you 8 days starting from only £47.95.

Luton mid term parking –  on airport

If you need a price-worthier solution, you may opt for the Mid-Term Parking, which has the same security features as the Short-Term Parking. A short bus ride lasting 5 minutes only will transfer you to the entrance of the terminal – and it is free. Buses are available day and night, every 10 minutes. This parking also has parking spaces for motorcycles.

You can park at the Mid-Term Parking up to 30 minutes for free. One hour costs £9.00, over 1 hour to 24 hours cost only £21.00; the fee for motorcycles is £20.00 per day. If you book online in advance you can benefit from a discount of up to 50%.

Luton long term parking –  on airport

To benefit from low tariffs, or if you travel for an extended time span, you can choose the Luton Long Term Parking. It is located a mere 10 minutes bus ride from the airport terminal, and there are frequent buses available day and night .

The rate for this parking is £19.00 a day, but you can gain significant price reductions by booking online in advance.

Luton Priority Drop Off –  on airport

This parking is the closest to the terminal entrance; it is specifically aimed at people who have to bring passengers to the airport or collect arriving passengers, or have just to do a short visit at the airport. However, the vehicles on this parking must not be left unattended.

The fee for this parking is £2.50 for the first 15 minutes, £9.00 for 30 minutes, and £1.00 for every further minute.

Luton priority parking meet & greet –  on airport

This is the ideal option for business travellers, people on a busy schedule or people travelling with their family – and just anyone who appreciates an excellent service.

Drive your car to a dedicated parking bay of the Priority Parking Meet & Greet service just outside the Airport Terminal. You have to call the service up to 15 minutes before your arrival. Hand over the key of your car to one of the professional and trained drivers who will be waiting for you – he will carefully park your car on a highly secured parking. You can easily proceed to your flight check-in. At your return, call the service  after you picked up your luggage – and your car will be waiting for you at the same place you left it. Check your car, and drive home to get a rest from your journey. Luton Priority Meet & Greet services are acclaimed by customers and receive very high satisfaction ratings.

The prices for this executive service start at only £46.00.  If you can, book early to take advantage from price reductions.

There are further parking facilities provided farther away from Luton Airport, with longer bus transfers and lower prices. However, we suggest using the Luton Airport official parking selection as their services achieve high satisfaction ratings.

Leaving your car with iPark at London’s Heathrow or Stansted airports before you travel is the best means to feel comfortable and assured your car is safe and well looked after. If you have any doubt, just have a look at the reviews and ratings – they will show you how satisfied most customers are with our services. Your car is in the hands of professionals, secure and under camera surveillance day and night, and it awaits you when you come back. Moreover, you can choose from several options – and the prices are very attractive. You can also find our discounts on the custom prices, which let you save even more.

If you choose the “Meet & Greet” option, you will hand over the keys of your car to a professional driver at your departure terminal, and you will find it back ready to pick you up when you arrive from your trip. You will not have to take a shuttle bus and carry luggage, and will gain ease and time. However, when you are back from travel you will obviously drive your car – and have to park it in crowded and complex environments. That’s why we want to share with you some tips and tricks; with some exercise and practice, you will become a parking expert.

Anticipate and check before parking and leaving

Driving a car involves responsibility, as accidents may happen within seconds. Most importantly you have to make sure before and while parking that the chosen parking space is free of children, other persons and any objects. If you park in a lot with many pedestrians or close to children’s’ playgrounds or schools, you have to be particularly cautious, as while parking you may have to cope with dead angles and low visibility and suddenly appearing children or cars. When you return to your parked vehicle, walk around the car and make sure that no children or objects are obstructing its way. This also lets you check that no damage occurred to your car while you were away. At the same time, anticipate how you will leave the parking in your mind, and make sure the road is free. When parking or leaving a parking space, look into the corresponding direction directly, use both side mirrors intensively and – if necessary – loosen the seat belt to see as far as possible into the dead angles.

Angled parking

Angled parking spaces are the easiest to negotiate.

• Choose a space which will leave a comfortable 1-1½ meter distance on both sides of your car
• Signal, approach the free place slowly until you see the centre of the parking space,
• Turn the wheel sharply, about half a turn, and slowly enter the space head on.
• When it’s done, turn your wheels back straight so that you can easily back out when you leave.

Perpendicular parking – forward

Perpendicular parking spaces can be entered forward and backward.

• Choose a parking space leaving enough space on both sides; signal, and position the car so that the front bumper is just beyond the taillights of the car before the space.
• Turn the steering wheel sharply, and slowly enter the space, until your car is properly positioned.
• Straighten the wheels, so that you can leave the space straight back.
• Be cautious when leaving the space, and reverse very slowly, as visibility to the sides is very limited. Reverse only as much as needed to be able to oversee both sides; when the way is free, reverse more and sharply turn the steering.

Perpendicular parking – backward

Entering a perpendicular parking space backwards is recommended, as it lets you leave the space with much better visibility to the side. However, until you get a good practice it may be a little more stressful.

• Choose a parking space leaving enough space on both sides; signal, and advance until your car’s back bumper is just beyond the
• taillights of the car after the space.
• Turn the steering wheel sharply, reversing very slowly, until the rear side of your car just crosses the line below the car beside you. Enter the space slowly, and when your car is aligned straighten your wheels completing the backward motion. Leaving this space will now be effortless.

PARKING ON A SLOPE

When parking on a slope you have to make sure that the brake and gear will hold the weight of your car.

• Drive your car into position, stop and hold the foot brake.
• Place the gear into neutral position, whether it is a hand gear or automatic model.
• Push the button on your hand brake and tighten it completely; check it once more to make sure it holds, than slowly release the foot brake. Select 1st gear, or “Parking “ mode on an automatic car.
• For further security, turn the wheels towards the inner side.

Reverse parallel parking

That’s the most tricky way of parking, but often – specially in towns with narrow streets – there is no other parking space available.

(Inforgraphics by T.W. White & Sons)