London Luton Airport
Luton is London's easyJet, Wizz Air and Jet2 airport: one compact terminal, more than 17.5 million passengers in 2025 and 136 destinations. Since 2023 the Luton DART, a driverless shuttle, has linked the terminal to Luton Airport Parkway station in under four minutes, which puts St Pancras as little as 32 minutes away. It also has a free way to skip the security queue that most people never hear about.
The 30-second version
Buy your train ticket to "Luton Airport", not Luton Airport Parkway, so the DART is included; bought on its own it is £4.90. The Luton Airport Express from St Pancras is fastest (22 minutes to Parkway, from £10 including the DART); Thameslink runs more often, through the night, from St Pancras, Farringdon, Blackfriars and London Bridge. Flying out between 03:00 and 15:00, reserve a free 30-minute Prebook Security slot up to four days ahead; outside those hours, Fast Track is from £4 online.
Book a private transfer
Booked with
A driver meets you in arrivals with your name on a sign, at a fixed price agreed when you book. Booked and paid with Welcome Pickups through our partner Travelpayouts; we may earn a commission.
easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Jet2, TUI, FlyOne, SunExpress, El Al
One terminal. The Luton DART stops at the terminal entrance; the bus and coach station is a short walk. Airside, gates 1-6 are by the family area and gates 20-28 are on Pier A.
Visitors from the EU, the US, Canada, Australia and most other visa-free countries need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation: £20 on the government's own site, one per traveller including babies. Airlines refuse boarding without it. Irish passport holders do not need one.
With a biometric passport, British, Irish, EU and EEA, Swiss, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, Singaporean and South Korean travellers can use the eGates. Since 8 July 2026, children aged 8 and over who are at least 120cm tall can use them with an adult. EU travellers on national ID cards and families with children under 8 see an officer.
Collect your bags and walk through customs into Arrivals. Meat and dairy from the EU, sandwiches and cheese included, cannot come into Great Britain for personal use. Complimentary pushchairs are along the arrival routes if yours is still coming off the aircraft.
ChangeGroup has 17 cash machines, open 24 hours before and after security, and a landside bureau open around the clock.
Follow signs to the Luton DART at the terminal entrance. It runs 24 hours: every 5 minutes at peak, every 8 off-peak and every 15 between 22:00 and 04:00, and takes under four minutes to Luton Airport Parkway. Tap in with a contactless card, or use a through ticket to London. The last Luton Airport Express to St Pancras leaves Parkway at 23:25 on weekdays, 22:28 on Saturdays and 21:58 on Sundays; Thameslink runs through the night.
National Express runs to London 24 hours: three an hour by day, every 30 minutes overnight. The A1 and A31 go to Baker Street, Marble Arch and Victoria; the A2 to Paddington. Green Line's 757 goes to Marble Arch and Victoria. The bus station is a short walk from the terminal, and the fastest coaches reach central London in about 50 minutes.
Pick-ups use the Drop Off and Pick Up Zone, a five-minute, 260-metre walk from the terminal through a tunnel. It costs £9 for the first 12 minutes, then £1 a minute, and drivers usually add it to the fare. Give a pre-booked driver your flight number so they follow any delay.
The airport's advice is to arrive two to three hours before departure. Check in online with your airline; with hand luggage only, go straight to Departures, otherwise use your airline's bag drop.
Flying before 9am with easyJet, Wizz Air or Jet2? easyJet and Wizz Air run a Twilight Bag Drop and Jet2 a Twilight Check-in, so you can leave your luggage the night before.
Reserve a free 30-minute slot for anyone arriving at security between 03:00 and 15:00, from four days ahead until 60 minutes before. Scan your boarding pass at the Prebook Security gates, show the QR code, and you are taken to the front of the line. No login, open to everyone.
From £4 a person bought online more than 24 hours ahead, or from £8 at the kiosks; under-2s free; 04:15 to 20:00. easyJet FLEXI and Plus fares include it.
Luton's CT scanners mean liquids and large electronics stay in your bag, with no plastic bag needed. Containers must still be 100ml or less. Empty your pockets into your hand luggage before you reach the tray.
There are no outbound border checks in the UK; your airline checks your passport. After security, water fountains are at the base of the lifts up to the departure lounge, and both lounges let you in from three hours before your flight.
Passes marked Book a pass are sold through GetYourGuide, which shows the price, hours and terms before you pay; we may earn a commission.
Every lounge in detail
A tended bar, a hot buffet and airfield views: the grown-up choice, and children can be seated in a family area.
Hot and cold food, a games room and family seating: the better pick with children, and open an hour later.
Book a passThe SmithfieldAirside
A British pub and kitchen named after the London meat market, serving from the first flight to the last.
NolitoAirside
Italian dining in a bright room; the place for a proper meal before a longer flight.
The Big Smoke Taphouse & KitchenAirside
Freshly made food, a long beer list and decent wine.
Sanford'sAirside
Breakfast, brunch and mains through the day.
ChaiiwalaAirside
Karak chai and Indian street food, all day.
Benito'sAirside
A family-owned Mexican counter: breakfasts, burritos and a cocktail if it is that kind of trip.
Final Call Bar & PantryAirside, Pier A
Coffee and a draught lager right by gates 20-28.
Black Sheep CoffeeAirside
The best coffee after security.
The Fletton Pub & KitchenLandside, before security
A British pub that tells Luton's brickmaking story; good for meeting people off a flight.
When you book a train, choose "Luton Airport" (code LUA), not Luton Airport Parkway: the DART is then in the fare instead of £4.90 extra. The Luton Airport Express is half-hourly and non-stop from St Pancras in 22 minutes; Thameslink runs up to eight an hour and through the night, from £6.50 in advance, and also calls at Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge. Drivers can drop you free in the Long Stay Car Park, where a free 24-hour shuttle bus reaches the terminal in about ten minutes. Sainsbury's Local is open 24 hours on both sides of security.
The family area, with big-screen entertainment, is near gates 1-6, around the corner from Pret by the stairs. You can take your pushchair to the gate, and borrow a free one on the way back along the arrival routes. Baby care rooms are signposted, and staff will show you a quiet spot to feed. Under-2s go free through Fast Track and into both lounges, and My Lounge has a games room.
Tell your airline when you book, or at least 48 hours before the flight, and the Assisted Travel team will meet you. After security there is an Assisted Travel Lounge with an adult changing room, shower and hoist, and a Quiet Room next to Gate 17. The airport has 130 hearing loops, at check-in, security, the gates and border control, and recognises the Sunflower lanyard. Assistance dogs have a relief area by bus stop T.
There are no lockers at Luton. Luggage Point, the airport's partner, stores bags 24 hours a day.
UK261 covers flights from Luton. Delayed two hours or more on a short flight (three for 1,500–3,500 km, four beyond), the airline owes you food and drink, and a hotel if it runs overnight. Arrive three hours or more late and you can claim £220 for 1,500 km or less, £350 for 1,500–3,500 km and £520 beyond (£260 if three to four hours late), from the airline first.
The airport lists five hotels close by: Hampton by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Ibis and Courtyard by Marriott. Overnight, the DART, the coaches, Thameslink, the landside currency bureau, the cash machines and Sainsbury's Local all keep going.
Luton lines up with King's Cross and the City. St Pancras is across the road from The Standard. Thameslink carries on to Farringdon, for the Elizabeth line west to Bond Street (The Zetter Marylebone and Claridge's) and Paddington (The Pilgrm), to City Thameslink for The Ned, and to London Bridge for Shangri-La The Shard. Our transfers page has the door-to-door times and fares for each hotel.
Questions people ask
Take the Luton DART to Luton Airport Parkway (under four minutes), then the Luton Airport Express to St Pancras (22 minutes) or Thameslink. Door to door from the terminal to St Pancras takes as little as 32 minutes.
£4.90 for an adult single if bought on its own. Buy your rail ticket to "Luton Airport" and it is included.
Yes, 24 hours a day: every 5 minutes at peak, every 8 off-peak and every 15 between 22:00 and 04:00.
Yes, the airport describes tap-and-go contactless payment on the trains to London.
Two, both after security: No1 Lounge by Gate 17 (from £38, 04:00 to 20:00) and My Lounge in the main departure hall (£37.99, 04:00 to 21:00). Both take Priority Pass.
The airport says two to three hours before departure. A free Prebook Security slot, between 03:00 and 15:00, takes the guesswork out of the queue.
From £4 a person online more than 24 hours ahead, or from £8 at the kiosks, 04:15 to 20:00. Under-2s go free.
No. Liquids and large electronics stay in your bag and you do not need a plastic bag, but containers must be 100ml or less.
Yes, unlimited and free throughout the airport on the Luton Airport WIFI network.
Image credits: Thomas Nugent (CC BY-SA 2.0) · M J Richardson (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Peter Richardson (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Jonathan Dann (CC BY-SA 4.0)