July 16, 1938
Operations began for an airport in the town and borough of Luton in England. (Luton, which originated as a Saxon settlement in the sixth century, is approximately 32 miles [50 kilometers] northwest of London.) Luton Airport was officially opened on that Saturday by Sir Kingsley Wood (1881-1943), who had become the British government’s secretary of state for air exactly three months earlier and would remain in this position until April 3, 1940.
After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Luton Airport was used in large part by the Royal Air Force in its military efforts on behalf of the Allies and against the Axis powers. Regular commercial service and civilian flight training at Luton Airport did not resume until 1952, seven years after the end of the war.
The airport went on to make notable contributions to the aviation industry. An example of this was its key role in the development and promotion of the package holiday tour business, which typically involves combining transportation arrangements, hotel accommodations, and various other travel services that are jointly sold by a travel vendor. By the late 1960s, about one-fifth of all package holiday tour flights offered within the United Kingdom were departing from Luton Airport.
In 1990, the airport was renamed London Luton Airport to highlight its proximity to the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. This airport has become the fourth busiest airport serving the metropolitan area of London. (The accompanying aerial view of London Luton Airport was taken in 2022.)
Photo Credit: Thomas Nugent (https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/4827) / Luton Airport from the air/ licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)
For more information on London Luton Airport, please check out https://www.lutonheritageforum.org/exhibitions/themes/transport/airport/luton-airport-through-the-ages
Transportation History 
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