​By Royal Appointment: HRH Duke of Kent visits London Luton Airport

HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent visited London Luton Airport (LLA) yesterday to see first-hand how the Airport’s £100m investment programme will improve services for passengers and benefit local communities.

As well as touring the Airport to find out more about the redevelopment, the Duke also met representatives from The Prince’s Trust, to learn more about the Airport’s ‘Get into Airport’s programme, and the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation which administers the Airport’s Community Trust Fund.

The visit comes after LLA announced a record-breaking year in 2014, with 10.5 million passengers having travelled through the Airport. With an additional 10 new routes already confirmed for 2015, His Royal Highness has seen first-hand how the investment at LLA will meet the growing demand from passengers.

Hosted by LLA Chief Executive Nick Barton and Executive Chairman Clive Condie, the Duke also learnt more about the Airport’s contribution to the local community including:

The ‘Get into Airport’s’ programme: Delivered in partnership with The Prince’s Trust, this scheme has seen almost 100 young people take part in practical workplace training and experience. 82% of participants have gone on to secure full-time work at the Airport.

The LLA Community Trust Fund: LLA contributes over £50,000 per year to the fund which makes grants to local community groups. In 2014 over 23 grants were made, helping thousands of local people

Adding 5,000 new jobs alongside the 8,600 people already employed on site and expanding the Airport’s economic contribution to the local area by £283 million to £1.2 billion.

Nick Barton, CEO of LLA, said:

“It was a pleasure to welcome HRH the Duke of Kent to LLA yesterday. The Duke was particularly interested in our contribution to the local community. The Airport supports over 8,600 jobs directly on site and is a key economic driver for the region, contributing £950 million to the local economy. Of equal importance are initiatives such as ‘Get into Airports’ with The Prince’s Trust and our contribution to the LLA Community Trust Fund, everyone associated with the Airport can be proud of their contribution to the local community.”