Luton Airport from the A1(M)
Heading for London Luton Airport from the A1(M)? The airport’s own directions for drivers coming this way use Junction 9 and the A505 through Hitchin. You do not need to cross to the M1 first. This page covers that route from the A1(M) side.
The route in outline
- Leave the A1(M) at Junction 9, signed for Letchworth and Baldock.
- Follow the A505 west through Hitchin towards Luton and the airport.
Junction 9 is in the Hertfordshire section of the A1(M). Between Junctions 9 and 10 the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025, record 49,176 vehicles a day, and between Junctions 8 and 9, past Stevenage and Hitchin, 93,845. Check the A1(M) Junctions 1 to 10 page for reports on this section before you leave.
Who uses this route
It suits drivers coming down the A1(M) and A1 from the east of England, Peterborough and further north. Drivers already on the M1 use its Junction 10 and the A1081 instead; our sister site covers that approach on its M1 Junctions 10 to 11 page.
The airport by the numbers
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Opened | 16/07/1938, as Luton Municipal Airport |
| Passengers in 2025 | 17,770,247 (CAA) |
| Rank among UK airports, 2025 | Fifth |
| Change on 2024 | Up 4.9% |
| Aircraft movements in 2025 | 134,763, about 369 a day |
| Airlines based here | easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz Air |
| Approved growth | To 32 million passengers a year, approved 03/04/2025 |
© A1MTraffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport
When it gets busy
The airport does not publish its busiest hours, so we do not guess them. It does publish its records. Summer 2026 was the busiest yet, with more than 5.5 million passengers between June and August, and the busiest single day was Friday 29/05/2026, with about 33,000 departing passengers.
If you would rather take the train
The Luton DART shuttle has linked Luton Airport Parkway station with the terminal since 10/03/2023.
Luton the town
Luton itself has a population of 239,090 (ONS estimate for mid-2024, local authority). The A505 serves the town as well as the airport.
News for the route
For the A1(M) to Junction 9, see the latest A1(M) traffic news. For the A505 itself, see Traffic News England. For all the roads between the A1(M) and the M1, see A1(M) and M1 link roads.
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.