Luton desoye a Aena y licitará la ampliación en 2027 por unos 4.200 millones

Luton Rising, the public company owning London's fourth airport, has accepted Aena's request to hold a competition to renew the concession, which will decide the company responsible for expanding and managing the infrastructure. Luton airport currently handles a maximum of 19 million annual passengers and is planned for an expansion to reach 32 million passengers in two phases, probably by mid-2040, in parallel with the anticipated growth.

This passenger figure is similar to the activity of Palma de Mallorca airport, which saw 33 million users last year. Aena manages these facilities near London since 2013, when they were purchased from Abertis. Now, they control 51% of the airport (the other partner being the InfraBridge fund, with 49%). EasyJet is the primary operator of Luton.

The current concession expires in September 2032, and the company has publicly shown interest in negotiating a direct extension without a competition, although it acknowledges this is more of a hope. The main reason, apart from the tranquility of being the sole bidder, is that this would allow the growth works to start earlier, without having to wait for the outcome of a new competition.

According to a spokesperson, Luton Rising has six years to find the operator for the next concession period. The airport owner intends to launch a formal bidding process by the end of 2027. Luton Rising is pleased that the current concessionaire might bid for the new concession, as Aena has expressed great interest in continuing in Luton within its strategic plan to grow in stable external markets with legal security, which became evident this year with the partial acquisition of Leeds and Newcastle airports.

Luton Rising is currently selecting consultants for the entire expansion process, covering economic and legal aspects. The company recently chose Mace Consult and Arcadis in September to set the schedule, systems, controls, and decision-making frameworks. The expansion in two phases will see Luton's terminal and facilities expanded no earlier than mid-2040.

The first stage will involve expanding the current terminal and its installations, with the second stage building a second terminal building and additional facilities, increasing capacity from 27 to 32 million passengers annually. Luton Rising expects this phase to start no earlier than 2033 and last for four years. The future terminal is not expected to open until 2041.

Luton Rising acknowledges that this airport, like all London's five airports, is undergoing expansion. Heathrow will be the most extensive, potentially reaching 50 billion euros, followed closely by Luton. In the first seven months of the year, the infrastructure gained 5% in activity, with 10.63 million passengers. A significant point will be the budget, which had been around 2.4 billion pounds (2.8 billion euros) until now.

For Maurici Lucena, Aena's chairman, the United Kingdom is one of the priorities of the quoted company. This amount has increased by 50% and could be higher. Luton Rising now speaks of over 3.6 billion pounds (4.2 billion euros) in 2025 prices, which may also change. The authorized project will be financed through a private sector investment by the airport operator. It is hoped that savings can be identified as the design and construction methodology mature.