TUI removes last aircraft from airport amid low demand

Travel company TUI will move its only aircraft based at London Luton Airport to London Gatwick Airport by next summer.

The company said it was due to bigger demand at Gatwick and supported "our long-term strategy to strengthen core operations".

It added that it remained "committed" to Luton where its UK headquarters and engineering hanger were located.

"We will continue to offer holidays from Luton Airport through our trusted airline partners," a spokesperson said.

Holidaymakers who have booked with TUI to fly out from Luton will travel with partner airlines easyJet and Ryanair.

They could also be moved to fly with the company from another airport.

One TUI flight to Palma in Majorca will stop en route at Luton - when it goes outbound and returns - in order to pick up or drop off passengers.

Consultation with affected cabin crew is ongoing.

Staff have told the BBC they are being offered the chance to relocate to other airports or take redundancy.

Workers based at its UK headquarters at Wigmore House in Luton are not impacted.

The company is planning to move to nearby Capability Green in Luton following the end of its lease at Wigmore House.

TUI flights still use the prefix TOM which is a legacy of the Thomson Travel Group which it acquired in 2000.

As part of that deal TUI gained Britannia Airways which was founded in Luton in 1961 as Euravia and became the world's largest holiday airline.

TUI rebranded the remaining Britannia aircraft as Thomsonfly in 2004.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.