Mace Consult and Arcadis have been appointed to help lead the growth programme at London Luton Airport.

Luton Rising has appointed the consultants to provide programme, project, cost and commercial management (PMCM) services.

Mace Consult will be responsible for establishing the programme schedule, systems, controls and decision-making frameworks that will underpin growth of the airport, following the programme receiving its final green light in August 2026.

Partnering with Arcadis, the team will shape an integrated delivery plan to increase the airport’s capacity up to 32 million passengers a year. The current cost estimate for the construction programme is in excess of £2.5bn.

Luton Rising is the Luton Council company that owns Luton Airport for community benefit. In August it cleared all legal processes to deliver its ambitious long-term sustainable growth plan that increases the airport’s annual capacity from 19 million passengers to 32 million passengers by the mid-2040s. Growth will create up to 11,000 new jobs and generate up to an additional £1.5bn in annual economic activity.

Drawing on its expertise in aviation and delivering complex infrastructure programmes, the Mace-led team will provide a host of services under the PMCM contract, including programme integration and planning, design management, commercial assurance, risk management, stakeholder engagement, consents advice and information management.

Martyn Court, head of mobility, Europe, at Mace Consult, said: “The London Luton Airport growth programme is at a pivotal stage, where bringing the right delivery partner on board can help transform complexity into clarity. Our appointment reflects this and, by combining the strengths of Mace and Arcadis, we’ll put in place the systems, controls, processes and governance that will enable Luton Rising to make informed decisions and progress with certainty towards increasing the airport’s capacity to 32 million passengers per year.”

David Pyle, DCO implementation director at Luton Rising, said: “This appointment is a significant step forward in the airport’s growth programme, which will help drive economic and employment growth for future generations. We know we have a robust vision, having received consent from the Secretary of State for Transport in 2025, and now is the right time to bring in specialist expertise and experience-based rigour to ensure delivery of the consented growth at the earliest opportunity.”