London Luton Airport has started the new year like it ended the last, with record traffic figures, as it handled over one million passengers in January for the first time in its history.

In total, 1,021,954 passengers (+3.6%) passed through the gateway in January to ensure that it has welcomed over one million passengers every month for 12 consecutive months.

Airport CEO, Nick Barton, says: “Last year was another record breaker at LLA, and we look forward to welcoming even more passengers as we enter our 80th year.

“Throughout 2018, passengers will see the airport transformed as we officially open our new terminal and reach the first phase of construction for the Mass Passenger Transit system, which will replace the current shuttle bus and create a rapid link between the train station and the terminal.

“However, this is only part of the solution to better public transport links and is why we continue to call on the government for four fast trains per hour between central London and Luton Airport Parkway.”

The newly expanded terminal will add eight new boarding gates and a greater variety of shops and restaurants.

The airport notes that passengers will also benefit from an increased number of destinations served from LLA due to the launch of a number of new routes in 2018.

They include Wizz Air introducing eight new services to cities such as Athens, Larnaca, Keflavik and Bari; and new easyJet routes to Genoa, Reus and three other destinations.

This follows a significant expansion of LLA’s route network in 2017, which saw the addition of 22 new routes, meaning that passengers can now choose from more than 140 destinations across Europe, Asia and Africa.