iniBuilds has recently teased the development progress on their rendition of London Luton Airport (EGGW) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, serving Greater London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire with a yearly average of 13.3 million passengers, making it the fifth busiest airport in the United Kingdom.

Opened in 1938, Luton was of great importance to the Royal Air Force during World War 2, with commercial activities only resuming seven years after the conflict.

Luton was pivotal to developing the package holiday business in the UK, amounting to a fifth of all holiday flights in the United Kingdom by 1969, leading to a major expansion plan in the subsequent decade to accommodate the ever-increasing traffic figures.

Fate might have been a bit cruel to Luton, as the figures dipped massively in the 1980s, leading to the addition of “London” to its name to emphasize its proximity to the capital.

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While the extra traffic did, in fact, come during the 1990s, it was in no way due to the renaming strategy, but by embracing charter operators and low-cost carriers such as Debonair and easyJet, which transformed it into the fastest growing major airport in the country.

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The rapid growth was rewarded with an 80 million pound investment program, which improved its infrastructure and facilities. It was followed by the construction of a 40 million pound terminal in 1999, opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, housing 60 check-in desks and a range of commercial outlets. Six years later, the departure and arrival lounges were redeveloped at the cost of 38 million pounds.

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Further development was conducted in 2018 at the cost of 160 million pounds, including new shops, a new boarding pier, and more boarding gates, increasing the passenger handling capabilities to 18 million a year.

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It’s an operating base for easyJet, Ryanair, TUI Airways, and Wizz Air UK, which, aside from Dan Air, El Al, FlyOne, and SunExpress, are the only ones that serve the airport, making it a full LCC-centric hub.

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There’s no information on the release date or pricing yet, but Threshold will keep you informed!

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