Luton Airport Basics

Luton Airport was considered the most profitable airport in the whole of the UK until one of its main operators, Court Line Airline, ceased operations in the early 1970s. Since then, Luton Airport has been successful, but not like some of its UK counterparts, Heathrow and Gatwick, for example. The airport is approximately an hour’s drive from London and is still well located if your final destination is London.

Car rental in Luton Airport

Car rental companies are located on the first level of the Arrivals area of ​​the terminal. Avis, National, Alamo, Europcar and Hertz are located in what Luton calls its Forward Travel Center. Coaches, Easybus tickets and train tickets are also available in this area. There is a free shuttle service available for car rental customers. The shuttle service will take customers from the terminal to the car rental center that is located a short distance from the airport. Transport services run constantly throughout the day.

To get to London from Luton Airport Car Hire, you will travel east along Percival Way towards the Holiday Inn Express near the roundabout. When you arrive at the Holiday Inn Express, go around the roundabout, down the hill and turn left onto Airport Way / A1081 for about 3km until you come to another roundabout. You are going to travel directly through the circle to get to M1. After just under 1km you will turn left onto the M1. Travel approx 24 miles to an area under a flyover where you will turn right onto Kilburn A5. In fact, you will rejoin the A406 for a few meters to finally join the A5 towards London city centre.

Traveling back to the airport from London, you will essentially travel back to the airport the same way, via the M1. Remember to turn left at the Holiday Inn Express onto Percival Road. Travel about 1.6 km until you reach the car rental center.

Remember that you may need to refuel. There is a gas station on a road near the car rental center. When you turn onto Percival Road near the Holiday Inn Express, drive approximately 1 km until you reach a roundabout. Go left in the circle and watch for signs. Turn left again, go down the hill a bit and you will see the Shell service station on the left hand side of the road. Go back the way you came to return your car to the car rental center.

Hotel near Luton Airport

As you exit the airport (and the rental car center), you will see a large Holiday Inn Express on the corner of Percival Road and Airport Way. This is easily the closest hotel to Luton Airport and you can usually get rooms for under £140.00 all year round, which isn’t bad considering breakfast is free. Free Wi-Fi is available in the lounge and business center for your convenience. There is no pool.

As for restaurants, we have chosen the A One Dosa in Luton. Luton has a growing mix of ethnicities in the area. In fact, 10-15% of Luton’s population is of Asian descent, such as Pakistanis and Indians. As a result, some of the best food you’ll eat near Luton Airport may be the ethnic foods that have been created as a result. The One Dosa is at 129 Dunstable Road, across from Luton. Go through Dunstable on the north side of town, and the restaurant will be on the left hand side of the road, about halfway down. Tripadvisor.com ratings give this little place a pretty good score, so far. Stay informed.

Luton Airport Services

There are some decent places to eat both before and after security. Before security (public areas) you have options like Yam Yam, Food Village, Costa and Caffe Nero. In the post security areas the food options improve a bit. Places like Pret A Manger, Pip, and the Real Food Company have areas set up before your flight takes off.

Shopping includes the basics. Tie Rack, Voyager, and Galleria are a few names that will sell you just about anything you can imagine (at least the typical airport shopping experience). As Luton Airport is smaller than some of its airport counterparts, your shopping options will also be relatively less.

Wi-Fi is available through a provider called Spectrum. It’s not free, but there are a couple of plans to choose from, ranging from just an hour or two to a full day plan.

Car hire options at Luton Airport

Almost every type of car that you would expect to be able to rent from an airport car rental service is available at the Luton. You will have options like economy cars, standard cars, luxury cars, SUVs and also compacts. We generally recommend that you book early, especially if you are reserving a more expensive car. More expensive options are typically stocked less in most locations to keep lesser-used, higher-cost inventory items down. Also, look on a GPS if you are unfamiliar with the London area. GPS (among other add-ons) can often be collected when you book your rental car. In fact, car rental companies occasionally encourage customers to enhance their rental car choice with a free GPS or other add-on.

Another thing to keep in mind when booking is adding additional drivers to the booking process. Doing so will confirm the insurability of any other drivers who may be driving the rental car. If you allow someone who has not been authorized to drive the car to drive and an accident occurs, you may find yourself in serious trouble. Do the right thing and tell the car rental company beforehand, even if it costs you money.