Luton airport shuttle used by King to open by Easter

The King was pictured using the DART service in December

An airport shuttle that King Charles has already ridden on is due to open to the public by Easter.

The Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART) system, linking the airport with Luton Airport Parkway railway station, was approved in 2017 and was due to open by the end of 2020.

Luton Rising, which owns the airport, said no precise date could be given but hoped it would be operational in April.

Its costs have also risen from £200m to about £290m, it confirmed.

The Luton DART was originally due to open two years ago

A spokesman for Luton Rising said it was "expected to be operational by Easter" and costs "may exceed £290m".

Easter Sunday is on 9 April.

Earlier costs were given at £200m and in December they had risen to £281m.

The final sum was "subject to on-going confidential commercial discussions", he added.

The King was given a special trip on the DART during his visit to the town on 6 December.

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The DART will be a cable-drawn, driverless railway running on a 1.4-mile (2.2km) line connecting the railway station to the airport terminal in just over three minutes, 24 hours a day.

It will replace shuttle buses which pick up passengers every 10 minutes.

Developers said the DART would create a "seamless transfer" between the airport terminal building and the railway station