PROJECT
FOCUS
TRAVELLING LIGHT
As London Luton Airport undergoes the biggest redevelopment in its history,
Gamma Illumination explains its role in the success of Luton’s brand new
multi-storey car park, part of the airport’s plans to cater for passenger growth.
H
aving handled 14.5m
passengers in 2016
and experienced the
largest passenger
growth of any London
airport, London
Luton Airport (LLA)
is currently investing
over £110m to transform the airport
and increase capacity from 12m to 18m
passengers per year by 2020.
This is the biggest development in the
airport’s 79-year history. Once a base for
Royal Air Force fighters, LLA continued
operating as a commercial airport after
World War II – and despite its hill-top
location and the fact that it is bordered on
three sides by Luton, the River Lea and
the Chilterns, it has continued to expand,
with key road and rail links with the M1,
London St Pancras, Nottingham and
Leeds making it accessible to passengers
from London to the Midlands, the North of
England and beyond.
To capitalise on this fact, the
redevelopment plans include making the
airport even easier to reach with better road
30 | November2017
access to the M1, new car parking facilities,
a remodelled bus and coach interchange
and improved rail links to Luton Airport
Parkway station. The terminal will also
undergo a complete redesign, bringing in
new retail and dining options to ensure that
the airport sets the tone for an enjoyable
passenger experience.
Not only would the car park need to be
amply illuminated to enable passengers to
park, walk safely to the exits and locate their
vehicles upon their return, the luminaires
would need to be able to function effectively
with minimal maintenance in this cool
The journey begins
As part of this ambitious strategy, a new
1,700-space multi-storey car park has been
built to provide secure on-site, under-cover
parking with a covered walkway linking it
directly to the terminal entrance, enabling
passengers to walk from their cars to the
terminal in minutes.
To ensure that the car park’s
lighting would meet the high standards
demanded by LLA, lighting designer
Stuart Price, who designed the LED
lighting scheme to deliver on efficiency
as well as performance, called upon
Gamma Illumination to supply the high
quality products required to complete
the project.
Luton’s new multi-
storey car park gives
passengers easy
access to the airport