'Swiftie Stays’ – Fans fly from LLA for concerts

Fans from across Europe have been arriving at London Luton Airport (LLA) over the past few days for the singer's eight-night run of London dates.

Nineteen-year old Manon, who travelled from The Netherlands to see Taylor Swift perform in London said: "I flew from Amsterdam on Friday 16th August to London Luton Airport as it's so close to Wembley! I've seen many other people with merch in the airport and a lot of friendship bracelets left on magazines in the stores. I had an amazing time and I will never forget it!"

Travelling fans have spotted fellow Swifties in the airport exchanging the famous friendship bracelets, with some also leaving bracelets in LLA's shops and restaurants for other fans to collect.

LLA predicted ‘Swiftie Stays’ as a key trend for 2024 travel, with nearly half*** of people surveyed confirming they would schedule a trip to an overseas destination to avoid missing a concert.

And many UK fans wanting a glimpse of the American singer on her three-month European leg chose not to "Stay Stay Stay” in the UK, opting instead to hop across the continent in “Style”.

LLA data for seven routes* serving European locations hosting Eras Tour concerts showed an average passenger number increase of 5% in comparison to flights one week prior to the concert and the day of the concert**. Week-on-week passenger numbers also dipped 2% following Taylor Swift's performances in the seven cities.

Notably, LLA data showed that passenger numbers to Paris from Sunday 5th May to Sunday 12th May, ending Swift’s first weekend of the European leg, jumped over 35%.

Paris, Lisbon, Zurich and Milan were also sought-after destinations on the days the singer was performing in those cities.

Amsterdam, Warsaw and Dublin were equally popular on pre-Eras Tour concert days and on gig days; all three cities featured in the top 10 destinations by passenger numbers for July 2024.

Clare Armstrong, Head of Guest Experience at London Luton Airport, said: “With the trend for more and more music fans to now follow their favourite artists overseas and embrace new cultures, we are delighted that London Luton Airport was the chosen starting point for so many Swifties heading to her European tour destinations during this summer. It's been so exciting to see them both arriving and departing from LLA and, as ever, our aim was to play our part by ensuring a simple, friendly passenger experience to everyone travelling through the airport.”