London Luton Airport (LLA) is teaming up with Luton-based author, illustrator and children’s stand-up comedian, Olaf Falafel, to launch a competition for local primary school children with a truly unique prize.  

Year 4 children (age 8 – 9) from 12 Luton primary schools have been invited to let their imaginations take flight and create a character to appear in an exciting new children’s graphic novel titled ‘32 Minutes to Save Summer’. 

The book, written and illustrated by Olaf Falafel, and commissioned by LLA, will be published ahead of the school summer holidays, with free copies provided to families travelling from the airport. 

The competition takes place during the National Year of Reading, led by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust, and described as the biggest campaign in a generation to inspire people to go ‘all in’ and rediscover the joy of reading. 

LLA launched three-year charity partnerships with the National Literacy Trust and Luton based Tokko Youth Hub in January 2025. In a successful first year of partnership, funds raised by LLA employees and passengers have benefitted 61,000 children, funded over 210,000 new books and enabled the training of almost 240 new Literacy Champions working in local communities.   

Alberto Martin, Chief Executive Officer at London Luton Airport and a member of the National Literacy Trust’s Business and Literacy Council, commented: “Reading and storytelling play an important role in helping young people build confidence, creativity and ambition, and London Luton Airport is delighted to ‘go all in’ for the National Year of Reading by teaming up with Olaf for this exciting competition. It’s a fun and exciting way to encourage children across Luton to get excited about books and to be part of something truly unique, demonstrating our commitment to place literacy at the heart of our work with the community.” 

Olaf Falafel, local author and children’s comedian, said: “Luton is a town filled with character, creativity, and its own unique challenges – it’s also the place I call home so I was absolutely honoured when I was asked to inspire the children of Luton to pick up a book and start reading. As a comedian, I’m definitely biased, but I believe funny books and comics can be a wonderful gateway into a much larger world of reading. Once reading becomes fun, it stops feeling like homework and starts becoming something children choose for themselves and that can stay with them for life. That is something truly valuable for the young people of Luton.” 

Lisa Rootes, Head of Partnerships at the National Literacy Trust, said: “Through partnerships like this one between the National Literacy Trust and London Luton Airport, we are helping children from socio-economically disadvantaged communities in and around Luton discover the joy of reading. By giving them opportunities to engage with stories, use their imagination, access books, and connect with local authors, we are nurturing a lifelong love of reading and empowering them with the literacy skills, confidence, and creativity they need to succeed.” 

The launch of the competition follows LLA’s recent success at the National Literacy Trust’s inaugural Vision for Literacy Business Pledge Awards, where the airport was presented with the Literacy Changemakers Award in recognition of its commitment and contribution to ensuring more children and young people can develop the literacy skills they need to thrive. 

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About London Luton Airport

London Luton Airport (LLA) is one of the UK’s busiest airports, 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 Jet2, easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Tui, FlyOne, Sun Express and El Al.

The airport is owned for community benefit by Luton Rising, a company wholly-owned by Luton Council, which has invested more than £500m in front-line, voluntary and charitable services since 1998.

The Luton Airport Express allows passengers to travel from central London to the LLA terminal in around 30 minutes. The service 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, and in 2025 LLA received the highest possible rating of 'Very Good' in the annual Airport Accessibility report published by the CAA, assessing assisted travel service performance.

In 2023, LLA also achieved 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 four consecutive years in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) benchmark of sustainability governance management and performance of major infrastructure assets worldwide.

LLA continues to be a major employer and a key economic driver in Bedfordshire — supporting 28,000 jobs and contributing £830 million per year to the local economy. 

Further information on London Luton Airport can be found here: https://www.london-luton.co.uk/ 

About the National Literacy Trust  

The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that empowers children, young people and adults with the literacy skills they need to succeed. Reading, writing, speaking and listening skills give you the tools to get the most out of life, and the power to shape your future. For over 30 years the National Literacy Trust has continued to support schools, families and communities on a local and national level to help people change their stories.  

literacytrust.org.uk  

About Go All In. National Year of Reading 2026  

The National Year of Reading is a Department for Education initiative in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment among UK children, young people and adults. The year-long collective action campaign aims to motivate people everywhere to see reading as modern, social, and personally meaningful.  

‘Go All In’ is an invitation for the nation to rediscover how reading can unlock the things they already love, in whatever way works for them – be it print books or audiobooks, digital magazines or graphic novels. By encouraging people of all ages to dive deeper into their interests and passions through reading – from music and sport to films, food and family time – the campaign aims to spark a love of reading in early years settings, schools, communities and homes.  

If you're into it, read into it. Go all in. goallin.org.uk 

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

URL: https://mediahub.london-luton.co.uk/news/lla-and-olaf-falafel-send-creative-minds-flying/05062026