Heseltine, Heath and other leading figures in 75 years of Luton Airport

Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood, performed the ceremony on July 16, 1938.

The airport was owned by the Borough of Luton and thought of as the northern terminal for London. During the war it was a base for 264 Fighter Squadron and civil and military aircraft were built there.

Since a new control tower opened in 1952, many famous people have flown to and from the airport, including entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson and leading politicians.

The 1966 General Election campaign saw Conservative leader Edward Heath arrive at Luton by helicopter and be greeted by Charles Simeons, the party’s candidate in the town. But Mr Simeons lost out to Labour’s Will Howie and Mr Heath was defeated by Harold Wilson in his attempt to become Prime Minister.

He was eventually voted PM in 1970 and in the same election Mr Simeons became MP for Luton.

After serving one term, boundary changes saw the seat divided into Luton East and Luton West for the February 1974 General Election and Mr Simeons lost to Labour’s Ivor Clemitson in the East constituency.

In October 1973, Luton’s Mayor, Councillor Bert King, and airport bosses greeted Michael Heseltine, Minister for Aerospace, who at the time was responsible for persuading other governments to invest in Concorde.

Luton Airport was hit hard the following year when major tour operator Clarksons and its airline Court Line went into liquidation.