EasyJet's Luton deal set to boost jobs and passenger numbers

An easyJet plane landing at Luton airport. Easyjet has 15 aircraft based at the site, its second largest base in the London area, and employs 1,600 staff locally. Photograph: ATM / Barcroft Media

Low-cost airline easyJet has secured a 10-year deal with Luton airport which could see it more than double passenger numbers at the site from 4 million to 9 million a year.

It said the expansion would also lead to the creation of 2,500 jobs at the airport and in the surrounding region.

But the chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said the pace of the growth depended on site improvements being approved, adding that Luton could make a "real and immediate" contribution to the need for more airport capacity.

EasyJet has 15 aircraft based at Luton, its second largest base in the London area, and employs 1,600 staff locally.

It said it planned to increase capacity by 20% over the next year by adding new business and leisure routes and increasing the frequency of flights on some of its 39 routes.

McCall said: "This is a substantial, long-term deal with London Luton airport – our first base and the airline's home – which will enable us to double our size at London Luton in the next decade and add an even greater range of business and leisure destinations."

Last week the airline signed a deal with Gatwick airport, which will give it certainty over user charges for the next seven years. The plan is for easyJet, which already flies 45% of the passengers from Gatwick, to be housed entirely in the larger north terminal, where it will become the dominant operator.

EasyJet revealed last week that it was set for a smaller-than-expected loss over winter, after it benefited from improved revenue trends and benign weather.