Luton Airport makes birthday boy's dreams come true - with behind the scenes tour and chance to 'fly' his favourite plane

A lucky five-year-old got the chance to experience being a pilot for the day after his dad asked Luton Airport (LLA) to make his birthday wish come true.

Brad Evan-Hart, who visits the airport every week with his son to watch aircraft take off and land, messaged the airport on Instagram to ask whether they would be able to surprise William for his fifth birthday.

The airport team secretly arranged a behind-the-scenes visit for the birthday boy, including a drive along the runway, tour of the terminal and training on how to marshal an aircraft. The airport also presented William with a bespoke pilot’s uniform as a birthday gift, to help his dreams move in the flight direction.

William’s favourite aircraft is a 787 Dreamliner, so LLA called on airline TUI to arrange a private tour of the hangar and a tour of the flight deck.

The youngster, who dreams of working at the airport when he’s older, was able to ‘fly’ the Dreamliner, as well as make passenger announcements on the aircraft. William was also able to get a close-up look at engineers hard at work and ask them what they loved most about their jobs.

On his surprise visit to the airport William said, “It was the best day of my life. I got to learn how to signal in a plane and go on a Dreamliner. I can’t wait to grow up and work at London Luton Airport, but it's going to be hard to choose what job I want to do after my trip.”

Brad said that he caught the boy’s fascination with airplanes when he was two years old. “William has always loved looking up to the skies and seeing planes. We love spending time together at the airport, so to get this opportunity to see all the hard work that goes on behind-the-scenes was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. William often talks about wanting to work at the airport when he is older, so I hope that his birthday surprise shows him that the sky’s the limit. I can’t thank London Luton Airport and Tui enough.”

For those like William that want to explore job opportunities at the airport, LLA has a wide range of roles available, both directly at LLA

and with dozens of companies operating from the airport including TUI. The jobs on offer cross a range of sectors and positions including pilots, aviation security, cabin crew, IT and retail and hospitality.

Nik Jones, HR Director at LLA, commented: “Giving back to the community is embedded within the culture of our business. Our focus is on providing opportunities at a grassroots level to help develop local talent, as well as creating positive economic growth. Whether it’s through community funding and volunteering support for local projects or arranging something more personal such as William’s surprise birthday visit for his fifth birthday.

“Attracting the next generation of talent is a key priority for LLA, so it’s always a pleasure to discover that we have a budding aviation professional like William on our doorstep. Hopefully, we will see William return to the airport as a member of the team in the future.”

To find out more about job opportunities, visit the airport’s website.