More than five times as many people support London Luton Airport’s expansion plans than oppose them
· Over 1,800 people living within 40 miles of the airport were polled
· 56% of respondents support or strongly support the expansion
· 11% of respondents oppose or strongly oppose expansion plans
· A community-led petition has collected over 10,000 signatures of support for the expansion plans
More than five times as many people support London Luton Airport’s expansion plans than oppose them, according to polling conducted by Focaldata and commissioned by Luton Rising.
Focaldata polled a sample of 1,802 adults living within 40 miles of Luton Airport. The breakdown of the figures are: 56% tend to support or strongly support the expansion; 11% tend to oppose or strongly oppose; 29% neither support nor oppose; and 4% don’t know.
Ensuring job creation is seen as a key benefit, with 85% of respondents stating it is important that new jobs are created when expanding the airport. Currently, nearly 11,000 jobs are provided directly through London Luton Airport. The expansion plans would facilitate a projected extra 10,900 direct, indirect and induced jobs, including 4,400 in Luton alone.
Similarly, 83% of respondents stated that it’s important for investment and new business coming into Luton and its surrounding regions
Paul Kehoe CBE, Chair of Luton Rising, said:
“The aviation sector is a pivotal part of the UK economy, and airports represent the physical hub of this economic activity. They provide both direct and indirect jobs, encourage new business into the region, and attract investment into the local area. Our polling shows that people close to London Luton Airport clearly understand the important economic role it plays.”
Additionally, the polling found that 82% of respondents believe it is important that expanding the airport brings with it increased financial support for local community organisations and charities.
London Luton Airport is already the most socially impactful airport in the country – since 1998 it has provided over £300m to local communities and supplemented by £180million for vital voluntary, community and charitable organisations. In 2019, 53p per passenger was invested directly in local community causes – equating to 20 times that of any other UK airport.
In addition to the polling, a community-led petition has collected over 10,000 signatures from members of the public, businesses and community organisations across Luton and surrounding areas who have expressed their support for the expansion plans.
Luton Rising Vice Chair Cllr Javeria Hussain said:
“We’re proud to be the most socially impactful airport in the UK – no other airport comes close in scale to our community investment which transforms lives across the communities we serve. We support a range of local leisure, community health, wellbeing and library services, as well as around 50 local charities, including organisations that assist people in old age, the disabled, tackling mental health and poverty, and victims of crime and domestic abuse.
“Expanding the airport will increase our ability to support local people and organisations. Alongside the continuation of our existing funding programmes, a new Community First fund would provide an additional £1 for every additional passenger we welcome due to the expansion, to support projects tackling deprivation and decarbonisation. This means Community First has the potential to raise up to an additional £13 million per year.”
A decision on the expansion proposals by the Government is expected later this year.
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