London Stansted Airport is a
tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
serving
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It is located near
Stansted Mountfitchet
Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census. The v ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, England, northeast of
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations across Europe, Asia and Africa. Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
, with over 100 destinations served by the airline. In 2015, it was the
fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom after
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
,
Gatwick
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
, and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. However as of 2021 numbers, it is second largest in the country. Stansted's runway is also used by private companies such as the
Harrods Aviation
Harrods Aviation Limited (formerly known as Metro Business Aviation Ltd) is a fixed-base operator and maintenance, repair, and operations service provider for business and corporate aviation in the United Kingdom with bases at London Luton Airport ...
,
Titan Airways
Titan Airways is a British charter airline founded in 1988 and based at London Stansted Airport. The carrier specialises in short-notice ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) and wet lease operations as well as ad-hoc passenger and ...
, and XJet terminals, which are private ground handlers that are able to handle private flights, charter flights, and state visits.
Converted to civil use from
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet was a Royal Air Force station during the Second World War located near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet in the District of Uttlesford in Essex, north-east of central London. The airfield is now London Stansted Air ...
in the late 1940s, Stansted was used by charter airlines. It came under British Airports Authority control in 1966. The privatised
BAA sold Stansted in February 2013 to
Manchester Airports Group as a result of a March 2009 ruling by the
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...
against BAA's monopoly position.
Overview
London Stansted Airport is located near the village of
Stansted Mountfitchet
Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census. The v ...
. It has one main passenger terminal. Three passenger satellites have departure gates; one is connected to the main terminal by an air bridge and the other two by the
Stansted Airport Transit System people mover.
The terminal building was designed by
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide.
...
with input from structural engineer
Peter Rice
Peter Rice (16 June 1935 – 25 October 1992) was an Irish structural engineer.
Born in Dublin, he grew up in 52 Castle Road, Dundalk in County Louth, and spent his childhood between the town of Dundalk, and the villages of Gyles' Quay and ...
, and features a "floating" roof, supported by a
space frame
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
of inverted-pyramid roof trusses, creating the impression of a stylised swan in flight. The base of each truss structure is a "utility pillar", which provides indirect uplighting illumination and is the location for air-conditioning, water, telecommunications, and electrical outlets. The layout of the airport was originally designed to provide an unobstructed flow for passengers to arrive at the short-stay car park, move through the check-in hall, and go through security and on to the departure gates, all on the same level.
From 1997 to 2007, Stansted had rapid expansion of passenger numbers on the back of the boom in low-cost air travel, peaking at 24 million passengers in the 12 months to October 2007, but passenger numbers declined in the next five years. Passenger totals later increased, and in 2016 recorded an annual increase of 8.0% to 24.3 million, and numbers have since continued to rise.
History
Second World War
The airfield opened in early July 1943 a dedication ceremony for the Stansted Airfield with a parade of builders, the 825th Engineer Aviation Battalion EAB and the 850th Engineer Aviation Battalion EAB of the United States Army along with a small group of the British Royal Engineers who offered to help and wanted to learn how to operate the heavy construction equipment. and was used during the Second World War as
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet was a Royal Air Force station during the Second World War located near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet in the District of Uttlesford in Essex, north-east of central London. The airfield is now London Stansted Air ...
by the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
and the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
as a bomber airfield and as a major maintenance depot. Although the official name was Stansted Mountfitchet, the base was known as simply Stansted in both written and spoken form.
The station was first allocated to the
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...
in August 1942 as a heavy-bomber airfield. As well as an operational bomber base, Stansted was also an
Air Technical Services Command maintenance and supply depot concerned with major overhauls and modification of B-26s. After D-Day, these activities were transferred to France, but the base was still used as a supply storage area for the support of aircraft on the continent.
Postwar use
After the withdrawal of the Americans on 12 August 1945, Stansted was taken over by the
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
and used by No. 263 Maintenance Unit, RAF, for storage purposes. In addition, between March 1946 and August 1947, Stansted was used for housing German prisoners of war.
[Wright ''Aircraft Illustrated'' February 1978, p. 70.]
In November 1946, the recently established British cargo airline, London Aero and Motor Services, equipped with ex-RAF
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.
The Halifax has its or ...
es, moved into Stansted, using it as a base for its operations until it was wound up in July 1948.
[Wright ''Aircraft Illustrated'' February 1978, pp. 70–71.]
The Ministry of Civil Aviation finally took control of Stansted in 1949 and the airport was then used as a base by several UK charter airlines. The US military returned in 1954 to extend the runway for a possible transfer to
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. The transfer to NATO was never realised, however, and the airport continued in civil use, ending up under
BAA control in 1966.
During the 1960s, '70s, and early '80s, the Fire Service Training School was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority. The school was responsible for the training of all aviation fire crews for British airfields, as well as those of many overseas countries.
Commercial operations and redevelopment
![London Stansted Airport - Baggage reclaim](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/London_Stansted_Airport_-_Baggage_reclaim.jpg)
Beginning in 1966, after Stansted was placed under BAA control, the airport was used by holiday charter operators wishing to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick.
![London Stansted Airport Air View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/London_Stansted_Airport_Air_View.jpg)
Stansted had been held in reserve as a third London airport since the 1950s. However, after a public inquiry at Chelmsford in 1966–67, the government set up the Roskill Commission to review the need afresh. The Commission for the Third London Airport (the "
Roskill Commission
The Roskill Commission (formally the Commission on the Third London Airport) was a UK Government Commission charged with looking into finding a site for a new airport for London. Chaired by High Court judge Eustace Roskill, it sat from 1968 to ...
") of 1968–71 did not include Stansted as one of its four short-listed sites and recommended that
Cublington
Cublington is a village and one of 110 civil parishes within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about seven miles (11 km) north of Aylesbury. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "Cubbel's estate". ...
in Buckinghamshire should be developed as London's third airport. However, the Conservative government under Ted Heath agreed with a minority recommendation that a site at Foulness in the Thames Estuary, later renamed Maplin, should be developed, but in 1974, the incoming Labour government under Harold Wilson cancelled the Maplin project because of the economic situation.
Stansted was then considered as an option for long-term development in the Advisory Committee on Airports Policy and the Study Group on South East Airports and was selected from a short list of six by the Conservative government in December 1979. The proposal, for a new terminal associated with the existing runway and the safeguarding of land for a second runway, was considered at the Airports Inquiries of 1981–83. The ''Inspector's Report'' was published in 1984 and the decision, announced in a white paper in 1985, was to approve a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year, but to reject the second runway.
Foster + Partners terminal
The current terminal building was designed by architectural practice
Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide.
...
, commissioned in 1981. As part of the development, a railway branch was built to the airport, and
Stansted Airport railway station opened in 1991. Construction was undertaken by
John Laing and took place between 1988 and 1991, costing £100 million. In 1990, it was awarded the
European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award. The building, recognised as a landmark work of high-tech architecture, was opened to the public in 1991.
As part of the project's development, in 1988
Norman Foster
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Nor ...
and British architectural artist
Brian Clarke
Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British painter, architectural artist and printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations with major figures in Modern and conte ...
made several proposals for an integral artwork for the terminal building. The principal proposal would have seen the east and west elevations of the terminal clad in two sequences of traditionally mouth-blown, leaded stained glass,
along the full 162-metre length of the building. However, for technical and security reasons, the artwork was not executed. In 1991, the British Airports Authority commissioned a second, smaller stained glass project from Clarke for Stansted Airport in place of the 1988 proposal. The artist designed two stained glass friezes and a 6-metre high tower of stained glass for a circulation area in the centre of the terminal which, in their composition, echoed elements of Foster's structure; by 1994 the tower had been removed to 'allow greater flow of traffic through the space',
and later the friezes were likewise removed.
Route developments and recent expansion
Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and
Chicago–O'Hare, but the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
also operated services in the late 1990s from
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...
, but this service was stopped shortly after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001.
Long-haul services to the United States returned in late 2005, when
Eos Airlines
Eos Airlines, Inc. was an American all- business class airline headquartered in Purchase, New York, with its flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. On 26 April 2008 Eos Airlines announced its plans to file bankruptcy on ...
and
MAXjet Airways
MAXjet Airways was an American, transatlantic, all-business class airline that operated between 2003 and 2007. Its headquarters were located on the grounds of Washington-Dulles International Airport, and in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Vi ...
commenced all-business class services from Stansted to
New York–JFK. In 2006, MAXjet expanded their service with flights to
Washington–Dulles,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. American Airlines began daily flights to Stansted in October 2007 from New York–JFK and was originally expected to operate a second daily flight from April 2008. However, because of the
jump in fuel price,
weakening economic performance, and worsening credit environment at the time, all three services to the United States have since been discontinued following the demise of MAXjet Airways in December 2007 and Eos Airlines in April 2008. Finally, in July 2008, American Airlines withdrew from Stansted, as well as Gatwick, and consolidated to
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
.
Long-haul transatlantic operations made a return to Stansted in June 2010, when
Sun Country Airlines announced a seasonal weekly service from Stansted to
Minneapolis/St. Paul. The flights made a refuelling stopover in
Gander,
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
as the aircraft used for the flight, a
Boeing 737-800
The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...
, would not be able to complete a nonstop westbound flight from Stansted to Minneapolis. The flights operated from 11 June to 15 August 2010. In 2011, Sun Country operated to Gatwick rather than Stansted and then discontinued flights due to the price involved in carrying fuel on long-haul flights. .
Long-haul services to Asia commenced in March 2009 with Malaysian low-cost airline
AirAsia X
AirAsia X (previously known as ''FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.''), is a long-haul budget airline based in Malaysia, and a sister company of AirAsia. It commenced operations on 2 November 2007 with its first service flown from Kuala Lumpur Internatio ...
providing direct flights to
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation.
KLIA is the largest and b ...
; however, on 24 October 2011, this service moved to
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
before being later withdrawn completely.
A major expansion programme to the existing terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, adding nearly of floorspace to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall, and a
hypostyle
In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns.
Etymology
The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...
arrivals' hall with improved facilities.
In November 2006,
Uttlesford
Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the market town of Saffron Walden. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 79,443. Other notable settlements include Great Dunmow, Elmdon, Stebbi ...
District Council rejected a BAA planning application to increase the permitted number of aircraft movements and to remove the limit on passenger numbers. BAA immediately appealed against the decision and a public inquiry opened, lasting from May until October 2007. Planning Inspector Alan Boyland made his recommendations in January 2008. Those recommendations were largely followed by the Secretary of State for Transport (
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey William Hoon (born 6 December 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire from 1992 to 2010. He is a former Defence Secretary, Transport Secretary, Leader of ...
) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears), who jointly allowed the applicant's appeal in October 2008. A legal challenge by community campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion was rejected by the High Court in March 2009.
In 2008, 57 people were arrested after
Plane Stupid
Plane Stupid is a UK-focused group of environmental protesters who state their aim as wanting to see an end to airport expansion for what it sees as "unnecessary and unsustainable" flights. It is a loose association of autonomous regional gro ...
, an environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a "stockade" on a taxiway, which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.
The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years. The ruling was quashed within a year following an appeal, but was subsequently upheld. The Competition Commission reconfirmed its ruling in July 2011 that the airport be sold, and the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
turned down an appeal by BAA on 26 July 2012. In light of the result, BAA chose not to appeal to the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
and confirmed on 20 August 2012 that the airport would be sold.
In 2017,
Antonov Airlines
Antonov Airlines is a Ukrainian cargo airline, a division of the Antonov aviation company. It operates international charter services in the oversized-cargo market. Its main base is Hostomel Airport near Kyiv. In the aftermath of the Battle o ...
opened a UK office at Stansted for cargo charter flights, generally of outsize loads.
Low-cost airline
Primera Air
Primera Air Scandinavia A/S, trading as Primera Air, was a Danish airline owned by Primera Travel Group. It provided scheduled and charter passenger services from Northern Europe to more than 40 destinations in the Mediterranean, Middle East ...
launched non-stop flights from Stansted to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
and
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
until the collapse of the airline meant the discontinuation of the routes by 2018, leaving the airport without transatlantic routes once more.
In March 2018, a group of activists delayed a deportation flight to Nigeria.
15 of the protestors were found guilty of "intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome", under the 1990
Aviation and Maritime Security Act. This verdict on the ''Stansted 15'' was described in ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' as having a
chilling effect
In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, the ...
on public dissent.
The airline
easyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
announced the closure of their base at Stansted, which had more than two dozen routes and existed for more than a decade, in August 2020.
On 24 June 2021, Icelandic low-cost carrier
Play (airline) began operating flights from the airport.
Infrastructure
Terminal and satellite buildings
The terminal is separated into three areas: Check-in and main concourse along the front, Departures towards the back left, and Arrivals on the back right upon entry. No gates are in the main terminal building; instead, they are located in three separate oblong satellite buildings. The airport has 68 gates: 40 jetway gates, and 28 hardstands with 6 additional spaces for narrowbody planes to be stored; these spaces however inhibit the 2 spaces these storage spaces are flanked by.
An additional building, known as the Advanced Passenger Vehicle (APV), was brought back into use in 2016 for flights departing during the busy 06:00 to 08:00 am period. The APV building is linked to the main terminal building by an accessible route and acts as a bus terminal for international flights at remote stands. Prior to the completion of Satellite 3, this terminal (then consisted of gates 90–95) was in regular passenger use.
Domestic arrivals (from the UK and
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area (CTA; ga, Comhlimistéar Taistil, ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are no ...
) use a separate exit route, located at the opposite end of the Terminal to the International arrivals hall. This exit is connected solely by footbridge from Satellite 2 gates 81–88. When a domestic flight arrives at a gate which is not located in Satellite 2, passengers are transported to a gate on Satellite 2 by a courtesy bus service from the aircraft.
Car parks and hotels
![Radisson Hotel at Stansted Airport - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Radisson_Hotel_at_Stansted_Airport_-_geograph.org.uk_-_321206.jpg)
Stansted has a variety of car parking including long-, mid-, and short-stay options along with valet and meet-and-greet parking services. Two drop off areas also are available. The express area is located near the short-stay car park, while a free service is within the mid-stay area. A fee is charged for the express service. Terminal Road North and its free drop-off area directly outside the terminal was closed shortly after MAG took over the airport in 2013. Since 2004, Stansted also offers a range of hotel accommodation including
Holiday Inn Express
Holiday Inn Express is a mid-priced hotel chain within the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands. Originally founded as an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering limited services at a reasonable price. Standard amenities lean tow ...
,
Novotel
Novotel is a French midscale hotel brand owned by Accor. Created in 1967 in France, the company grew into what became the Accor group in 1983, and Novotel remained a pillar brand of Accor's multi-brand strategy. Novotel manages 559 hotels in 65 ...
,
Premier Inn
Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...
, and
Radisson Blu
Radisson Blu is an international chain of hotels operated by Radisson Hotels. With roots dating back to the 1960s, the Radisson Blu brand name came into existence in 2009 with a rebranding from Radisson SAS. Its hotels are found in major cities, ...
hotels and the recently opened
Hampton by Hilton, the last two of which are both within two minutes of the terminal building via an undercover walkway. Regular bus service handles transfers between the terminal building and Stansted's car parks and hotels.
Control tower
![Stansted Airport - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Stansted_Airport_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1761312.jpg)
Stansted's
air traffic control tower was completed in 1996 and was the tallest in Britain at the time of its construction. It is located on the southside of the airfield alongside the main terminal building. It replaced the old control tower, which offered poor views of the airfield once the current terminal building was opened in 1991.
Other infrastructure
There are several cargo buildings and hangars around the airfield. The main cargo centre is located by the control tower and handles most cargo operations, including aircraft such as the
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing.
Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986.
Assembly of t ...
and the
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
. There are a small number of hangars on the other side of the runway to the rest of the airport. The largest are located at the south east of the airfield, one of which is used by Ryanair.
Titan Airways
Titan Airways is a British charter airline founded in 1988 and based at London Stansted Airport. The carrier specialises in short-notice ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) and wet lease operations as well as ad-hoc passenger and ...
has its head office in the Enterprise House on the airport property. Several airlines at one time had their head offices on the airport property.
AirUK
AirUK was a wholly privately owned, independentindependent from government-owned corporations regional British airline formed in 1980 as a result of a merger involving four rival UK-based regional airlines. British and Commonwealth (B&C)-own ...
(later
KLM uk
KLM uk was the brand name of a British airline subsidiary of KLM, which operated services within the UK and between the UK and the Netherlands using ATR-72, Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 aircraft. KLM uk had its headquarters in the Stansted House ...
) had its head office in the Stansted House. When
Buzz existed, its head office was in the Endeavour House. When
AB Airlines existed, its head office was in the Enterprise House. For a period
Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House at Stansted. When
Go Fly
Go Fly (styled and trading as Go) was the name of a British low-cost airline, founded by British Airways in 1998. It operated flights between London Stansted Airport and destinations in Europe. The airline was purchased from BA in a management ...
existed its head office was at the Enterprise House.
Proposed developments
Abandoned plans for a second runway
On 11 March 2008, BAA submitted a planning application (titled "G2") to expand the airport by and for the construction of a second runway and terminal, etc., in line with a recommendation in the
2003 Air Transport White Paper (ATWP). This would have been the subject of a public inquiry, and if approved, would have allowed Stansted to handle more passengers than Heathrow did at the time of the application.
In May 2010, BAA withdrew its plans to build a second runway at Stansted and withdrew the plans to build a new runway at Heathrow.
[BBC News]
Heathrow and Stansted runway plans scrapped by BAA
, 24 May 2010. Visited 20 June 2011
The ATWP had anticipated that a second runway would be operational by 2011, but this date continued to slip. BAA's 2008 planning application envisaged operation commencing in 2015, and in 2009, BAA revised the anticipated opening date to 2017.
Prior to the United Kingdom's May 2010 general election, all three major political parties pledged not to approve a second runway. Soon after the election, the new government confirmed this, and BAA withdrew its application for planning permission, having spent nearly £200 million preparing for the public inquiry and buying up properties.
The public inquiry into BAA's second runway application had been scheduled to start on 15 April 2009, but the start was delayed by Secretary of State
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a former British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles, previously Salford, from 1997 to 2015.
One of 101 female Labour MPs elected at the 1997 g ...
to allow time for BAA and the government to consider the implications of the March 2009 Competition Commission's ruling that BAA must sell Stansted within two years. As 2011 drew to a close, BAA was still appealing against the Competition Commission ruling. On 20 August 2012, after losing a case at the Court of Appeal, BAA agreed to cease challenging the Competition Commission's ruling and to sell Stansted.
On 10 February 2010, Secretary of State
John Denham John Denham may refer to:
* John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury
* John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges
* John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet
* John Denham ...
, in an open letter, concluded that the inquiry could not reasonably start until after the general election. In addition, he commented that the planning application documents were nearly two years old and would require updating. Eventually, BAA realised the futility of pursuing its G2 application in the context of the new government policy and withdrew it on 24 May 2010.
Stop Stansted Expansion
The
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) was formed in 2002, as a working group of the North West Essex and East Herts Preservation Association, in response to the Government's consultation on expanding UK airports and, particularly, expansion plans for Stansted Airport subsequently defined in the Air Transport white paper in December 2003.
SSE, whose membership includes the majority of local parish councils and thousands of residents, continues to actively campaign against unsustainable expansion of the airport. SSE was a major participant in the 2007 G1 public inquiry and had committed to be a major participant in the anticipated inquiry into the G2 second runway proposal. Following the withdrawal of the G2 planning application, the group called upon BAA to sell the homes it had bought to support the planned expansion.
In September 2012, as a result of pressure from the aviation industry, the government set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to consider what, if anything, needed to be done to maintain the UK's status as a global aviation hub. The commission concluded that an additional runway would be required for South East England and that it should be added to either Heathrow or Gatwick. Following the 2015 election, the commission made a final recommendation to expand Heathrow subject to certain environmental constraints.
Throughout 2013, the Airports Commission published discussion papers and invited submissions from key stakeholders on the main issues it wished to consider. SSE made several thorough submissions. SSE also accepted an invitation to give oral evidence and make a presentation to the commission on aviation demand forecasting and connectivity at a public evidence session held in Manchester in July 2013.
Terminal redevelopment
MAG announced on 20 June 2013 as part of a visit to the airport by the Secretary of State for Transport that it would be launching an £80 million terminal redevelopment programme. MAG has invested £40 million and the remainder was invested by other commercial partners. The redevelopment included relocation of the security area, doubling the amount of seating, and improving the information displays. The new Departure Lounge offers a food court, a number of new shops, and an Escape Lounge, but the remodelling has drawn heavy criticism due to the length of time it takes to walk through the shopping areas to get to the departure gates.
Satellite One has also been redeveloped with the aim to attract more long-haul airlines to Stansted.
New Arrivals terminal
An arrivals terminal is planned to be built at Stansted. The site is planned to include larger immigration and baggage reclaim areas, with more shops and facilities available after arrival into the UK. The current terminal will be reconfigured to departures only, with security and check-in areas due to be expanded. The project is expected to cost £130m, and, once completed, will make London Stansted the only airport in the UK with dedicated arrivals and departures terminal buildings. Initially construction was due to start in 2018, taking three years to complete. However, the arrivals terminal was put on hold at the end of 2019. In 2020, an initial decision by Uttlesford District Council refused permission for a modified version of the plan.
However, this decision was overturned by the
Planning Inspectorate
The Planning Inspectorate for England (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing reco ...
following a public inquiry in 2021 and permission has now been granted for the airports expansion plan.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines operate regularly scheduled and charter flights to and from Stansted:
Cargo
Statistics
Development
In 1988, over 1.1 million passengers passed through Stansted, the first time annual passenger numbers had exceeded 1 million at the airport.
Consistent year-on-year growth followed, and by 1997, the total had reached over 5 million, rapidly rising to almost 12 million in 2000.
In 2007, passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for five years, and in 2012, the total was around 17.5 million. An increase of 2.2% was recorded in 2013 to 17.8 million passengers, then 11.7% in 2014 to 19.9 million, followed by 12.8% in 2015 to 22.5 million, and 8.0% in 2016 to a record total of 24.3 million, making Stansted the
fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom.
Stansted also is a major freight airport, the third-busiest in the UK during 2016, behind London Heathrow and East Midlands Airport, handling in excess of 223,203 tonnes per annum, although freight throughput has declined slightly from its 2005 peak level.
Passenger numbers for the year ending September 2016 increased by 8.4% to over 24 million for the first time since 2007.
Traffic figures
Busiest routes
Ground transport
Transit system
![Stansted Airport People Mover](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Stansted_Airport_People_Mover.JPG)
The Stansted Airport Transit System connects the terminal to the satellite buildings via a free
automated people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
service, which runs on dual concrete tracks. The system uses a mix of Adtranz C-100 and
CX-100 vehicles to carry passengers to departure gates. Unlike the similar
Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit
The Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit is a long elevated automated people mover that links the North and South Terminals at London's Gatwick Airport. The line is ground-side, and besides linking the two terminals also serves to link the North termi ...
, the Stansted transit is only accessible "airside" (i.e. only after passengers pass through security).
Trains
Stansted Airport railway station is situated in the terminal building directly below the main concourse.
[stanstedairport.com – To & From the Airport](_blank)
retrieved 25 April 2017
Services to London are on the
Stansted Express
The Stansted Express is a direct train service linking London Liverpool Street to London Stansted Airport. It is a sub-brand of Greater Anglia, the current franchise operator of the East Anglia franchise.
History
In 1986, British Rail (BR) e ...
train to and from
London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
in Central London. This service operates every 15 minutes and the usual journey time is between 45 and 53 minutes. Liverpool Street is served by the
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,
Circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
,
Hammersmith & City and
Metropolitan lines of the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
network, alongside the
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of London Paddington statio ...
, offering access throughout London. The Stansted Express also calls at
Tottenham Hale, for the Underground's
Victoria line
The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely undergr ...
and connections to various destinations in North London and the
West End. Some Stansted Express services also call at
Stansted Mountfitchet
Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census. The v ...
,
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...
and/or
Harlow Town en route to London Liverpool Street.
CrossCountry operates an hourly service from the airport to
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
, via
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
and
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
.
Greater Anglia operates services to
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
via Cambridge.
Buses and coaches
Scheduled express bus or coach services run to and from Stratford (45 minutes),
Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station is the largest coach station in London, located in the central district of Victoria in the City of Westminster. It serves as a terminus for many medium- and long-distance coach services in the United Kingdom, and is also ...
(75 minutes),
Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
(55 minutes), and
Portman Square
Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...
via
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...
(70 minutes) and
Paddington Station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
(105 minutes) (all in London), costing about half the train fare, but taking longer. The bus station is next to the terminal building.
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
runs direct coach services to the airport from
Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
and Heathrow, and also from Birmingham (11 a day), Oxford (8 a day), Norwich (10 a day), and Cambridge (11 a day).
Stansted is also the start of the hourly X30 coach service to
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
via
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
and
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport is an international airport situated on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, approximately from the centre of London. The airport straddles the boundaries between the city of Southend-on-Sea and the Ro ...
and the hourly X10 coach service to
Basildon
Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159.
It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...
via Chelmsford, both operated by
First Essex
First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
History
First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...
.
Local bus services operate to nearby communities, including the 510/509/508 (Harlow to Stansted via Stansted Mountfitchet, Parsonage Lane and Takeley, respectively), 7/7a (Bishops Stortford to Stansted), 133 (Braintree), and 6 (Saffron Walden), operated by Arriva.
Roads
Stansted is connected to northeast London and Cambridge by the
M11 motorway and to
Braintree,
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
, and
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
by the A120, which is dual-carriageway until Braintree. The road distance to London is .
As of October 1996, the airport has 2,500 short-stay parking spaces within walking distance to the terminal. In addition, as of the same month, the airport has over 8,000 long-stay spaces located near the M11 motorway and A120 junction. A courtesy bus service links the long-stay spaces to the terminal.
[Stansted Website o]
Stansted Parking Facilities
, visited 19 June 2011 The airport also offers mid-stay parking, closer to the terminal than its long-stay spaces.
Stansted Airport also offers valet parking and a meet-and-greet service, which is similar to valet, but marketed more at the leisure-traveller market, both are run from the short-stay car park.
Incidents and accidents
Stansted has been designated by the UK government as its preferred airport for any hijacked planes requesting to land in the UK. This is because its design allows a hijacked airliner to be isolated well away from any terminal buildings or runways, allowing the airport to continue to operate while negotiations are carried out, or even while an assault or rescue mission is undertaken. For this reason, Stansted has been involved in more hijack incidents than might be expected for an airport of its size.
* On 27 February 1982, an
Air Tanzania Boeing 737-2R8C landed at the airport after having been hijacked on an internal flight from
Mwanza
Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest c ...
to
Dar Es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
and flown to the UK via Nairobi, Jeddah, and Athens, where two passengers had been released. The hijackers demanded to speak to exiled Tanzanian opposition politician
Oscar Kambona
Oscar Salathiel Kambona (1925-1997) was the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanganyika. He was arguably the second-most influential and most popular leader in the country after President Julius Nyerere.
Kambona was born on 13 August 15 on ...
. This request was granted, and after 26 hours on the ground, the hijackers surrendered and the passengers were released.
*On 30 March 1998, an
Emerald Airways
Emerald Airways was an airline based in Liverpool, United Kingdom. It operated contract and ad hoc freight services throughout the UK and Europe for postal, newspaper and freight companies and passenger services to Ireland under the brand FlyJ ...
Hawker Siddeley HS 748
The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley.
...
carrying the
Leeds United F.C.
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
was brought down immediately after takeoff when its starboard engine exploded. Forty passengers were onboard (18 from the Leeds team). Only two passengers were injured.
* On 22 December 1999,
Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509
Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 was a Boeing 747-200, Boeing 747-2B5F, registered HL7451 and bound for Milan Malpensa Airport, that crashed due to instrument malfunction and pilot error on 22 December 1999 shortly after take-off from London Stanste ...
, a
Boeing 747-200F
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
, crashed shortly after take-off from the airfield due to pilot error. The only people on board at the time were the aircrew, and all four were killed. The aircraft crashed in
Hatfield Forest
Hatfield Forest is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, three miles east of Bishop's Stortford. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is owned and managed by the National Trust. A ...
near the village of Great Hallingbury.
* On 6 February 2000, an
Ariana Afghan Airlines
Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. ( ps, د آريانا افغان هوايي شرکت; prs, هواپیمایی آریانا), also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan. Founded in 1955, Ariana is the olde ...
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
with 156 people on board was hijacked and flown – stopping at Tashkent, Kazakhstan, and Moscow – to Stansted Airport. After a four-day stand-off, the hostages on board were safely freed and the incident ended peacefully. It later emerged that the motive behind the hijack was to gain asylum in the UK, sparking debate about immigration into the country. A large number of passengers on board the plane also applied for asylum. The remainder returned to Afghanistan. Nine hijackers were jailed, but their convictions for hijacking were quashed for misdirection of the jury in 2003, and in July 2004, a court ruled that they could not be deported from the UK.
* On 24 May 2013,
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
flight 709 from
Lahore, Pakistan, was escorted by RAF Typhoons after being diverted from Manchester Airport due to an onboard threat. Two men were charged with endangering an aircraft.
* On 21 September 2013,
SriLankan Airlines
SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations and was launched i ...
flight UL503 inbound to Heathrow was escorted by RAF Typhoons to Stansted Airport after being diverted. Two men were detained for endangering an aircraft, one was formally arrested.
* On 4 October 2017, RAF Typhoons from the
Quick Reaction Alert
Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of readiness and '' modus operandi'' of air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Airspace Control Alert'.
Some non-NATO c ...
intercepted Ryanair flight FR2145 inbound to Luton and escorted it to Stansted Airport after a bomb threat. The threat was found to be a hoax.
* On 12 October 2022,
Jet2
Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind EasyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also officia ...
flight LS922 from
Dalaman
Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.
Dalaman Stream (''Dalaman çayı'') forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbor ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, was escorted by RAF Typhoons after being diverted from Manchester Airport due to a security scare.
See also
*
*
Airports of London
The metropolitan area of London, England, United Kingdom, is served by six international airports and several smaller airports. Together, these airports constitute the busiest airport system in the world by passenger numbers and the second-bu ...
*
List of Royal Air Force stations
The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now. After the Battle
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .#
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to present* The Bishop's Stortford Herald newspaper, 26 April 2007.
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stansted Airport
Airports in Essex
Airports in the London region
Airports in the East of England
Heathrow Airport Holdings
Airports established in 1943
Ove Arup buildings and structures
Foster and Partners buildings
Lattice shell structures
Transport in Uttlesford
Proposed transport infrastructure in the East of England
1943 establishments in England
Manchester Airports Group
Stansted Mountfitchet
Takeley
Elsenham
Civilian airports with RAF origins