London Luton Airport

• Location: Luton, UK
• Client: London Luton Airport Ltd.
• Year: 2019
• Sector: Buildings |
• Specialisms: Airside | Civil Engineering | Project Management | Structural Engineering | Transport Planning |

London Luton Airport (LLA) is the fifth busiest airport in the UK. It carries 17M passengers in 2019, and one of the key economic drivers employing 9,400 staff from the local region. To accommodate migration to South-East England and the demand for travel abroad, it underwent a £150M transformation to increase capacity to 18M passengers by 2020. This couples with the adjacent New Century Park Enterprise Zone which will create 38,000sqm of manufacturing and distribution space and 4,000 new jobs.

What we did

Pell Frischmann was originally commissioned for Stage 1 – Route Identification. However, owing to our collaborative and innovative approach the client extended our involvement through to Stage 5 – Construction Supervision.

The team was responsible for a complete redesign of the terminal, increasing its capacity by 50% to accommodate space for new retail space and eateries. The client also drew on our multi-disciplinary and cross-sector expertise and commissioned us to undertake the redevelopment beyond the terminal, including major upgrades to transport links to LLA, including:

• Better road access to the M1;
• New car parking facilities;
• Remodelled bus and coach interchange;
• Improved rail links to Luton Airport Parkway Station.

Pell Frischmann also acted as the Stakeholder Manager for the project. Aviation schemes bring a variety of interested parties not only from those on the ground at all times, but also those who aren’t. Our team’s collaborative engagement with EasyJet, Tui and others ensured that our design did not disrupt critical operations. Our approach earned the respect of all parties, building an extended team focused on, and confident in, successfully achieving the airport’s growth ambitions.

Outcomes

London Luton Airport Ltd.’s (LLAL) ‘Vision for Sustainable Growth 2020-2050’ paper, published in 2017, sets a vision and process to extract and spread the benefits of LLA’s growth over the surrounding communities and counties, with regular public consultation between: Central Bedfordshire Council, Hertfordshire County Council, North Hertfordshire District Council and Luton Borough Council. The Pell Frischmann Stakeholder Team have been key to laying the foundations for this to happen.

The aspiration is to significantly increase the 18M passengers per year to 32M. Our collaborative approach carefully balances maximising economic, social and environmental benefits, whilst absolutely mitigating adverse effects on the economy and the environment.

We are proud to be helping LLAL, deliver its aims, namely:

• Seamless levels of service for the travellers to and fro the country;
• Actively manage environment impacts at the regional and wider levels as part of their commitment in sustainable development;
• Supporting Luton Council in delivering the Luton Investment Framework and its work to eradicate poverty and improve lives.

We’d love to hear from you!

To find out more about London Luton Airport, please contact us through our form here.