El Al and Luton airport celebrated together on Tuesday, after reaching the milestone of a million passengers having flown via the London airport with the Israeli airline.

The millionth passenger was gifted with a model of the aircraft and a free flight upgrade by the airline, with the airport giving them a free car parking package for the next time they fly from their with El Al.

All passengers on the flight in question also received kosher biscuits to celebrate the occasion.

The one million mark was also reached in time for the tenth anniversary of El Al commencing operations from Luton airport, having initiated flights from there in 2009.

In that time, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport has become the fifth most popular destination for travellers from Luton, with El Al operating up to 19 departures a week from the airport.

Luton is the closest airport to the Jewish community of North-West London, the largest in the UK.

Oranit Beit Halahmy, managing director for West Europe and Africa at El Al, described the decade of “close partnership” as a success.

“We would like to thank all our one million passengers for their unwavering support. We are hoping for a million more passengers to fly from LLA [London Luton Airport] to Tel Aviv.”

Jonathan Pollard, chief commercial officer for LLA, said: “El Al has had a successful ten years at LLA, and we are delighted to have welcomed their millionth passenger flying from the airport.

“We look forward to continuing our partnerships with El Al for many more years to come.”