Luton Airport Action

What’s wrong with expanding the airport?

Won’t it bring more jobs and money to Luton?

The economic issues Luton Airport has lost nearly £550 million over the last 3 years Show more Show less

Council finances

Luton Council’s loans to the Luton Airport company (Luton Rising) are currently over £500 million.

£71 million was spent up to March 2023 simply on trying to get planning permissions for Luton airport expansion.

Luton Council’s deficit as of April 2024 is £11.5 million, as the council struggles to fund vital services.

The difficulties of the Covid pandemic are just one example of why Luton will have a more secure and stable economic future if the airport stays at its current size rather than expanding.

More jobs, with decent pay?

According to Safe Landing – a global community of aviation workers – UK aviation now has less jobs than it did in 2007. “The real risk to aviation jobs is blowing our carbon budget”

A 2023 report by the New Economics Foundation found that the idea that airport expansion has economic benefits is out of date: Overall, between 2008 and 2022, air transport saw the largest real-terms pay decline of any sector in Britain. It is also one of the poorest job creators in the economy per pound of revenue.

Alternatives

In contrast, the average wage for a net zero job is higher by nearly £10,000 per year than the overall UK average. A community clean energy scheme would be an alternative investment opportunity for the council – for example, Cambridgeshire council is raising revenue with solar farms.

The effects on health “Luton named worst blackspot for air pollution deaths in the East of England” Show more Show less

6.2% or 1 in 16 deaths in Luton are caused by long-term exposure to particulate air pollution.

Air pollution is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and to stunted lung growth in children.

Expanding the airport would make this worse in multiple ways – firstly because the emissions from jet engines add to this type of air pollution, and secondly because it increases the number of cars passing through the city.

Choosing not to expand would mean kids can grow up breathing less deadly air pollution.

The climate crisis Stopping flying is one of the best things we can do to reduce harmful greenhouse emissions Show more Show less

A return flight from from Luton to New York generates more Co2 than the average person in 54 countries produces in a year.

Cutting out one long distance flight lasting 6 hours or more) is the 3rd most effective way to cut your carbon footprint.

An analysis of 504 extreme weather events and trends found that 71% had been made more likely or more severe by human-caused climate change.

These worsened extreme weather events have devastating consequences. There are too many examples to list, but here are just two, taken from a letter published on the CGAN site (an organisation attempting to prosecute politicians when they make decisions which will contribute to causing huge numbers of deaths.)

33 million people were impacted by the record breaking floods in Pakistan in 2022, with over 1 million displaced

Around 100,000 people have been killed by the record breaking drought in the Horn of Africa, with millions more suffering extreme hunger and starvation

Choosing not to expand would mean choosing not to cause extra deaths & devastation around the world by worsening the climate crisis, which makes disaster events such as droughts, storms, unsurvivable heat, fires & floods much more frequent and more devastating.

Inequality Luton Airport has the most yearly flights of private jets in the UK Show more Show less

70% of all flights in Britain were taken by only 15% of adults.

Only 2% to 4% of the global population flew internationally in 2018.

According to a New Economics Foundation report, growth in air traffic will mean: “a significant transfer of welfare from the majority, who suffer the ill effects of greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and reduced air quality, to a wealthy minority of frequent flyers.”

What can the average person do to help stop expansion, reduce aviation emissions, and counter greenwashing?

Sign the petition to ban private jets

Sign here

Write to your MP and local councillors to let them know about the issues, and ask them to stop all airport expansion

Send an email

Check out these groups & resources for more information

Stay grounded Safe Landing Flight free UK wearepossible.org/our-reports/get-flights-on-track

Join an anti-expansion group in your area

Spread the word, and use your vote

Tell your friends and family how airport expansion isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

And at the next election, vote for candidates who care about the environment and preventing the climate emergency.

Who are Luton Rising?

Luton Rising is the airport company, which has been spending big to promote its airport expansion plans! Luton Rising branding has appeared in many places, including marketing local volunteers as ‘Luton Rising Festival Makers’. A couple of things to know:

£155,932 was spent by Luton Rising on a 6 week campaign of promoting airport expansion, and a ‘community’ petition in favour of expansion.
Luton Rising’s recent campaign has been referred by multiple groups to the Advertising Standards Authority for misleading ads, which make green claims by leaving out key information on the pollution caused by increased flights.

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Luton Airport Action

Who are Luton Rising?