London Luton Airport welcomes Mockingbird hubs for airport tour

The visit was organised in partnership with Mockingbird, a pioneering programme delivered by The Fostering Network. The Mockingbird programme brings together up to ten satellite foster families to form an extended family-style support system, known as a ‘constellation’. At the heart of each constellation is a hub home, where a specially recruited and trained foster carer provides support to all carers within the constellation.

Airport colleagues from the Guest Experience, Security, Airside Operations, Fire Service and Ground Handling teams hosted 15 children aged 6 to 18 years, along with their adults and foster carers from Mockingbird hubs based in south and west Hertfordshire.

During the tour of the terminal, each member of the group was provided with a customised ‘boarding pass’ to a destination of their choice. Following a one-off call for ’Flight Mockingbird’, the group were also treated to a private tour of the airfield and a visit to the airport fire station.

Following the event, one attendee commented: “It was such a memorable day that will stay with us. The visit has inspired my foster son in his dream to become a pilot and it was wonderful to see the smiles it brought to many of the other children in our Mockingbird hubs. Thank you."

Clare Armstrong, Head of Guest Experience at London Luton Airport, commented: “Hosting the families was hugely rewarding for our teams and provided a useful opportunity for the children and their foster families to get an up-close look at all aspects of the airport. Our teams came together wonderfully well to create an exciting and memorable experience for the families, and we were delighted to hear that some of the children have been inspired to consider a future in aviation after seeing our daily operations.”

In October 2024, LLA’s Guest Experience Team won two categories at the 2024 UK Customer Experience™ Awards. The airport received a gold award in the Best Customer Experience for Vulnerable Customers category, as well as being named Team of the Year (large company).