London Luton Airport (LLA) and Cranfield University have strengthened their long-standing association with a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). 

The signing of the MoU coincides with the 60th anniversary of Air Transport teaching and research at Cranfield University celebrations that took place at the Cranfield University campus in Bedfordshire on Friday 13th September.

The partnership will provide a framework for environmental, operational and educational collaboration, joint project activities and combined research opportunities. 

Under the terms of the partnership, LLA and Cranfield will work together to identify opportunities in three key areas -
•    Net Zero collaboration – identifying opportunities for environmental innovation and efficiency in support of LLA’s journey to Net Zero, exploring new ground in areas such as energy efficiency, future fuel and power sources, smart local energy solutions and collaboration on net zero strategies and policies
•    Operational Innovation – collaborating on operations and the passenger experience including digitalisation and emerging aviation technology
•    Education - collaboration on a range of education and skills development initiatives. LLA will also work alongside Cranfield’s National Flying Laboratory Centre (NFLC), a facility virtually unique in the European academic sector and used to support teaching, research and consultancy. 

Alberto Martin, Chief Executive Officer at London Luton Airport commented: “This agreement is an exciting development that cements London Luton Airport’s long-standing partnership with our neighbours at Cranfield University. The MoU provides the platform to combine operational experience and expertise with world class academic research and thinking, applied to a live airport environment, and underlines our shared commitment in the three hugely important areas of sustainable aviation, operational innovation and the development of future skills.”

Professor Dame Karen Holford, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Cranfield University said: "We are delighted to formalise our partnership with London Luton Airport and continue to build our connections. The collaboration gives us the opportunity to further address the industry's skills gap and provide individuals with promising career prospects, and it builds on our crucial research into decarbonising aviation.”

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 European Airport of the Year (10-25 million passengers) by ACI EUROPE. This followed 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/

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/13092024/lla-university-cement-sustainability-partnership