Luton Airport: Travel is a 'bit more of a normal life again'

Luton Airport is expecting thousands of passengers through its doors during the February half-term

With half-term about to start and coronavirus testing easing for fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK, airports are hoping the flights industry will really start to take off again. Luton Airport is expecting 90,000 passengers over the next week and it hopes this number will continue to rise.

But what does it mean for the travellers and the business community?

'We are not out of the woods'

Alberto Martin, chief executive London Luton Airport, says he welcomes the easing of travel restrictions for arrivals

The airport is run by London Luton Airport (LLA), but is owned by Luton Rising, which is a company owned by Luton Borough Council, which relies on income from the airport.

Alberto Martin, LLA's chief executive, says "it's been a very difficult couple of years for all of us, but I get the impression we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and there are lots of reasons to be optimistic".

"The airlines are telling us that sales are looking really good for half-term and the fact that the travel restrictions are being eased, this is going to make it as easy as it's always been [to travel]."

From 04:00 GMT on Friday, all testing requirements were removed for fully-vaccinated arrivals, with only a Passenger Locator Form required.

The budget airline EasyJet has its base at the airport in Bedfordshire

Anyone who is not fully vaccinated will still need to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test on or before day two after they arrive in the UK.

• Spain relaxes Covid restrictions for UK teenagers

• How are travel rules being relaxed?

• Families avoid Spain for half-term over jab rules

"We want to see that confidence back; our partners are telling us that the confidence is coming in the sales, and bookings are looking really good," says Mr Martin.

Despite his optimism, he says ongoing uncertainty about Covid-19 means "we are not out of the woods".

He says it is still too early to know if summer bookings will increase but he is hopeful those numbers will also rise.

'I'm still cautious'

Diane Kitson is going to France to enjoy some winter sport activities

Diane Kitson has packed her bags for a skiing trip and is flying to Lyon.

"This is our first trip in three years; it's exciting," she says.

She says the easing of travel restrictions "makes a big difference coming back to the UK" and she is pleased she does not have to do a test to get home.

"I'm still very cautious; I'm still doing all the tests and sanitising, and all the things we need to do; it's important to still keep going with it for a bit."

She is looking forward to a "bit more of a normal life again - hopefully!"

'It's exciting in a strange way'

James Dymond is jetting off on his holidays with his family

For James Dymond and his family, their flight to France will be the first family holiday in two years.

They managed to get away in February 2020, before lockdown restrictions came in, and says they have just taken holidays in the UK after they failed to get to France again in 2020.

"It's quite exciting, in a strange way; it ought to be quite normal, but it's really nice to be able to do it again, it felt like it's been a bit of a hurdle in terms of the testing, but it's quite normal really," he says.

He adds that the easing of testing to get home did not make any difference to him as "we would have gone anyway, but it's nice to know we haven't got that hassle when we come back".

'We're seeing green shoots'

Liam Grundy says Lagardère Travel Retail benefitted from the government's furlough scheme and did not have to lay anyone off

Liam Grundy, commercial and business director for Lagardère Travel Retail, which owns and runs the duty free store at the airport, is pleased footfall is increasing.

"We're seeing some really good green shoots of recovery," he says.

"After a difficult two years and having to close our stores in line with lockdown, it feels really good to be open consistently and we expect to be open for the foreseeable future.

"Right now [the number of] customers coming through the store is directly related to the number of people travelling, which depends on restrictions and the cost of travel for people.

"We are really hopeful for a strong summer... of course there is some uncertainty - we don't think we will get back to 2019 levels, but we are expecting a busier summer."

This means the company has started to recruit more staff and he says it has been very lucky - because of the furlough scheme it did not have to lay off any of its 100 staff.

The airport operator believes "there is still a long way to go" before travel recovers fully