Local five-year-old William Evan-Hart got a chance to experience being a pilot for the day, after Dad, Brad Evan-Hart, asked London Luton Airport (LLA) to make his birthday wish come true. 

Brad and his son avidly visit the airport every week to watch their favourite aircraft take-off and land. Upon seeing William’s love for aviation, Brad messaged the airport on Instagram to enquire whether they would be able to surprise him for his fifth birthday. 

The airport team secretly arranged a behind-the-scenes visit for the birthday boy, including a drive along the runway, a tour of the terminal and training on how to marshal an aircraft. As well as the experience, the airport presented William with a bespoke pilot’s uniform as a birthday gift, to help his dreams move in the flight direction. 

The local lad’s favourite aircraft is a 787 Dreamliner, so LLA called on airline TUI to arrange a private tour of the hangar and a tour of the flight deck.  

William, who dreams of working at the airport when he’s older, was able to ‘fly’ the Dreamliner, as well as make passenger announcements on the aircraft. During his visit, William was also able to get a close-up look at engineers hard at work and ask them what they loved most about their jobs. 

On his surprise visit to the airport William said, “It was the best day of my life. I got to learn how to signal in a plane and go on a Dreamliner. I can’t wait to grow up and work at London Luton Airport, but it's going to be hard to choose what job I want to do after my trip.”

Dad Brad said that he caught the boy’s fascination with airplanes when he was 2 years old; “William has always loved looking up to the skies and seeing planes. We love spending time together at the airport, so to get this opportunity to see all the hard work that goes on behind-the-scenes was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. William often talks about wanting to work at the airport when he is older, so I hope that his birthday surprise shows him that the sky’s the limit. I can’t thank London Luton Airport and Tui enough for taking the time to make a local boy’s dream come true and hopefully encouraging a next generation pilot.” 

For those like William that want to explore job opportunities at the airport, LLA has a wide range of roles available, both directly at LLA and with dozens of companies operating from the airport including TUI. The jobs on offer cross a range of sectors and positions including pilots, aviation security, cabin crew, IT and retail and hospitality.

The airport also works closely with Luton Council on their Passport to Employment programme, which helps local people get the support they need to get a job, build a career and take advantage of the opportunities on offer.

Nik Jones, HR Director at LLA, commented: “Giving back to the community is embedded within the culture of our business. Our focus is on providing opportunities at a grassroots level to help develop local talent, as well as creating positive economic growth. Whether it’s through community funding and volunteering support for local projects or arranging something more personal such as William’s surprise birthday visit for his fifth birthday. 

“Attracting the next generation of talent is a key priority for LLA, so it’s always a pleasure to discover that we have a budding aviation professional like William on our doorstep. Hopefully, we will see William return to the airport as a member of the team in the future.”

A TUI spokesperson added: “We were delighted to welcome William to show him all the work that our mechanics are carrying out behind the scenes and to provide him with an exciting close-up look at one of our Dreamliner planes. The visit certainly seemed to capture his imagination and it would be amazing to think that this could be his first step towards a career in aviation.”

To find out more about job opportunities available at London Luton Airport, visit: www.london-luton.co.uk/corporate/working-at-lla

 

 

 

About London Luton Airport:
London Luton Airport (LLA) is one of the UK’s busiest airports, carrying 58 million passengers in the past five years.

The airport is operated by a consortium of which the majority shareholder is AENA, the world’s largest airport operator, and AMP Capital, a specialist global investment manager. Airlines include easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Tui, Blue Air, FlyOne, Sun Express and El Al.

Passengers travelling by rail can reach the airport via a half-hourly express rail service which operates between London and Luton Airport Parkway. In addition, work is nearly complete on a new light rail system linking the airport with Luton Airport Parkway station. The project is being delivered by the airport’s owner Luton Rising – a company owned by Luton Council to enhance local and regional economic growth and social investment.

London Luton Airport is an accredited Real Living Wage employer. The introduction of the Real Living Wage, the only UK rate calculated according to living costs, reflects LLA’s commitment to be a responsible and ethical employer. 

About TUI:
TUI UK and Ireland is the UK’s largest tour operator. As part of TUI Group, it is the business behind the TUI, First Choice, Marella Cruises and Crystal Ski Holidays brands, as well as TUI Lakes & Mountains, TUI Tours, TUI River Cruises, and its leisure hotel brand is TUI BLUE. TUI also provides thousands of experiences in 100 countries through TUI Musement, one of the world’s leading tours and activities digital platforms. 

TUI UK & Ireland has a team of over 11,000 employees and its full holiday programme serves millions of customers each year.  

Its airline, TUI Airways, operates to over 79 destinations in 33 countries with 68 aircraft. It was the first airline in the UK to take delivery of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. 
 

Contact Details:

London Luton Airport Press Office 01582 395333
pressoffice@ltn.aero

URL: https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/06102022/london-luton-airport-makes-birthday-wish-come-true