London Luton Airport (LLA) has been crowned European Airport of the year (10-25 million passengers) at the prestigious ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards.

LLA was presented with the coveted award at ACI EUROPE’s Annual Congress and General Assembly in Istanbul, seeing off fierce competition from fellow finalists in the 10-25 million passengers category, Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport and Brussels Airport.

The Best Airport Awards recognise excellence and outstanding achievement from across ACI EUROPE’s vast membership of airport operators. The Best Airport category is split into five awards by airport size to ensure that ‘the crème de la crème of the industry is given due focus’. 

LLA was commended by the judging panel for its strategic approach that has driven several key milestones over the past 12 months:
•    Developed a ‘One Team, One Plan’ strategy to establish LLA as the UK’s simplest and friendliest major airport, focused on sustainable growth
•    Achieved Level 4 ‘Transformation’ of the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, with a net-zero target by 2040
•    Developed even greater choice for passengers following the introduction of 18 new shops and restaurants and two new passenger lounges 
•    Launched an electrified express rail service enabling passengers to travel from central London to the LLA terminal in around 30 minutes
•    Maintained resilience to limit operational disruption following a major car park fire in October 2023
•    Delivered strong operational enhancements throughout the year 
•    Established a collaborative approach to work with stakeholders, learn from one another and achieve more

Alberto Martin, Chief Executive Officer at London Luton Airport, commented: “We are all absolutely thrilled that ACI EUROPE has named London Luton Airport as one of Europe’s best airports. The award recognises LLA’s performance and achievements across a wide range of disciplines, as well as all-round resilience and adaptability. I am extremely proud of every member of LLA staff as this fantastic recognition is testament to the passion, commitment and professionalism shown by our dedicated teams across the airport who work so hard to deliver a simple and friendly passenger experience.”

Notes for Editors
ACI EUROPE is the European region of Airports Council International (ACI), the only worldwide professional association of airport operators. ACI EUROPE represents over 500 airports in 55 countries. 

About London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport (LLA) is one of the UK’s busiest airports, carrying over 16.2 million passengers in 2023. The airport is operated by a consortium, of which the majority shareholder is AENA, the world’s largest airport operator, and InfraBridge, a leading infrastructure investment manager. Airlines include easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Tui, FlyOne, Sun Express and El Al.

The Luton Airport Express is a new dedicated train service that allows passengers to travel from central London to the LLA terminal in around 30 minutes. The Luton Airport Express runs from St Pancras International to Luton Airport Parkway station and connects seamlessly with the DART, an electrically powered people mover that connects to the airport terminal in less than four minutes.

In 2024, LLA was named by ACI EUROPE as the Best Airport (10-25 million passengers), after being named as the UK’s best airport by readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine in 2023. 

Last year, LLA also became only the third major UK airport to achieve Level 4 of the globally recognised Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme, demonstrating that it is ‘transforming its operations to achieve carbon reductions in line with global climate goals’. With a maximum score of 100 and a five-star rating, LLA has been ranked as a sector leader for two consecutive years in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) benchmark of sustainability governance management and performance of major infrastructure assets worldwide.

To learn about the progress London Luton Airport is making across its sustainability programme please click here. Further information on London Luton Airport can be found here: https://www.london-luton.co.uk/

Contact Details:

Contact Details:
London Luton Airport Press Office
T: 01582 395333
E: pressoffice@ltn.aero

London Luton Airport – PR agency:
E: LLA@tinmancomms.com

URL: https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/04072024/lla-wins-best-european-airport-award