| 1938 | Right Honourable Kingsley Wood, Secretary of State for Air, opened the airport, owned by the Borough of Luton.
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| During the war | London Luton Airport became the base for 264 Fighter Squadron. Percival Aircraft Company began making aircraft at the airport for both civil and military planes.
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| 1952 | After the war, the airport again was available for civilian usage. By this year a new control tower was opened.
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| 1950s | Package Holidays became popular, allowing more people to have access to international travel. Tour holiday packages evolved from this concept.
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| 1962 | Brittania Airways established its base at London Luton Airport, making the airport a commercial airport.
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| 1972 | Monarch Crown Service added to the success story of the airport when they began flying from Luton. In addition, the tour operator, Clarksons, began using its Courtline airlines resulting in Luton having 20% of the UK market for holidaymakers. However, when Courtline went into liquidation, the airport suffered great losses.
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| 1978 | A government White Paper helped to make Luton Airport recognised as a part of the London airport system.
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| 1985 | HRH the Prince of Wales opened the new international terminal building. This building was a part of the plan to make the airport sufficient to handle 5 million passengers annually by the year 1990.
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| 1986 | Rynair took advantage of the international terminal building and began flights to Spain and Ireland.
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| 1987 | The borough council was the only shareholder when the airport became London Luton Airport Ltd. The same year, Rynair moved their operations to another airport.
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| 1990 | The airport was renamed. It officially became London Luton Airport.
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| 1991 | This year an unsuccessful attempt was made to sell the airport.
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| 1992-1996 | Many upgrades were made to London Luton Airport during these years. They included a new air traffic control tower, a new centre for cargo, a new access road and increased parking facilities, a Category 3 Instrument Landing System, and upgrading of the passenger terminal.
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| 1995 | Luton Airport helped to pioneer the "no-frills" flying concept which caught on quite well after becoming the first UK base for EasyJet, one of the low-cost carriers.
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| 1998 | The airport had become UK's fastest growing airport by this time. In order to continue growing, additional sources of finances were needed. A private-public partnership signed in August of this year provided 80 million pounds of financial backing for the airport. Although Luton Borough Council owns the airport, it is managed for 30 years by London Luton Airport Operations Ltd.
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| 1999 | The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh opened what the local people refer to as the "Tin Shed", a 40 million pound terminal made of aluminium and glass. This year Railtrack opened a 23 million pound London Luton Parkway station, making the trip from the airport into London a 30 minute commute.
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| 2000 | The opening of a 30 seat chapel at the airport was a unique development for this year.
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| 2005 | A new international departure hall was opened.
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