Students from Luton took to the skies on 23 April 2026 as part of a new initiative between London Luton Airport and Cranfield University. Twenty competition winners were invited to experience a flight aboard the university’s Saab 340B aircraft, which serves as a unique flying classroom and laboratory for aviation students.
The flight was the centrepiece of the Reach for the Sky competition, which is supported by a 90,000 pound grant from the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority. This programme aims to inspire the next generation of aviation professionals and provide greater access to industry careers for underrepresented groups.
Cranfield University operates the National Flying Laboratory Centre, which is the only facility of its kind in Europe. The aircraft is regularly used by more than 2,000 aeronautical students over 20 universities, each year to study real-time flight data and conduct research, offering local students a rare hands-on look at potential career paths in the aerospace sector.
This initiative builds upon a three-year partnership signed in September 2024 between the airport and the university. The collaboration focuses on education, operational innovation, and efforts to reach net zero emissions. It also complements the airport’s Classroom to Careers programme, which provided skills workshops to nearly 400 local students in 2025 in partnership with Skills Builder and Luton Council.
As a major employer in Bedfordshire, London Luton Airport supports 28,000 jobs and contributes 830 million pounds to the local economy each year. Through these ongoing outreach efforts, airport leaders and university officials hope to continue building strong ties with the community while preparing young people for future roles within the aviation industry.
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