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Stansted Airport is an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
serving
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the capital of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It is located near
Stansted Mountfitchet Stansted Mountfitchet is an England, English village and civil parishes in England, 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, increasi ...
,
Uttlesford Uttlesford is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Saffron Walden. The district also includes the town of Great Dunmow and numerous villages, including Stansted Mountfitchet ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, northeast of
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
. As London's third-busiest airport, Stansted serves over 180 destinations across Europe, Asia and North Africa. London Stansted is a base for a number of European low-cost carriers. This includes being the largest base for low-cost airline
Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
, with over 150 destinations served by the airline. , it is the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom after
Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
,
Gatwick Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-bu ...
, and
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in 2021, it ranked second 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 Airp ...
,
Titan Airways Titan Airways Limited is a British charter airline 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 cargo char ...
, and XJet terminals, which are private ground handlers that can handle private flights, charter flights, and state visits. Converted to civil use from
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet RAF Stansted Mountfitchet is a former 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 Stan ...
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 Manchester Airports Group Limited, known as MAG is a British airport operator which owns three British airports: Manchester Airport, East Midlands Airport, and Stansted Airport. The Group operates under Manchester Airports Holdings Limited, ...
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. The airport has one main passenger terminal which opened in 1991, with three passenger satellites containing the departure gates. The terminal building was designed by
Foster and Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the desig ...
and is regarded as influential for airport architecture. 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 with 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. Stansted Mountfitchet Airport was used during the Second World War as
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet RAF Stansted Mountfitchet is a former 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 Stan ...
by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
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 Forces S ...
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 and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
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 ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. 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.


Under BAA ownership (1966–2013)

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. 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 Sir Eustace Roskill, it sat from 1968 ...
") 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 north of Aylesbury. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means "Cubbel's estate". In the Domesday Book of ...
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.


Redevelopment into London's third airport

The redevelopment of Stansted into London's third airport began with outline
planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...
granted in 1985, for a new terminal building to accommodate up to 15 million passengers annually. Initially, the project was planned in two phases. The first phase was designed to permit an annual capacity of 8 million passengers, while the second phase was intended to expand the terminal's capacity to 15 million passengers per annum. It was initially believed that any future development beyond this capacity would require the construction of a second major terminal building.


Foster Associates terminal

Foster Associates, founded by architect
Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...
, was commissioned to design the new terminal building, with structural engineering led by Peter Rice at principal engineers
Ove Arup & Partners Arup Group Limited, trading as Arup, is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London that provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment. ...
. The plans were approved in 1985, and construction took place between 1988 and 1991 by the John Laing company at a cost of £100 million. The terminal building originally comprised a square structure of 11 bays by 11 bays, and opened to the public in 1991. It received the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture (Mies van der Rohe Award) in 1990. As part of the development, a railway branch was built to the airport for
Stansted Airport railway station Stansted Airport railway station is a railway station serving London Stansted Airport in Essex, England. The terminus of a dedicated branch line off the West Anglia Main Line, the station is down the line from Liverpool Street station, London Li ...
, built at ground level within the terminal. The building was recognised as a landmark work of high-tech architecture. Foster + Partners' design for Stansted Airport is widely regarded as a transformative influence on airport architecture. The building features open canopies that visually connect the landside and airside, and challenged conventional airport layouts by relocating essential services underground, instead creating an open and flexible main concourse that is naturally illuminated. The "floating" roof, supported by a
space frame In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure (Three-dimensional space, 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometry, geometric pattern. Space frames can ...
of inverted-pyramid roof trusses, creates 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. These principles influenced the design of future projects around the world. In 1999, planning permission was granted for Phase 2 of the terminal expansion, which included extending the width to 15 bays, as well as the addition of the third satellite building.


Further developments

A major expansion programme to the terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, extending the width by 2 bays, with nearly of floorspace, to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall. In November 2006,
Uttlesford Uttlesford is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Saffron Walden. The district also includes the town of Great Dunmow and numerous villages, including Stansted Mountfitchet ...
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 ...
) 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. 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 An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
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) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...
and confirmed on 20 August 2012 that the airport would be sold.


Under MAG ownership (2013–)

In January 2013 it was announced that MAG (Manchester Airports Group) had agreed to purchase London Stansted Airport for £1.5 billion. The sale was completed on 28 February 2013. 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, new shops, and an Escape Lounge. In 2017,
Antonov Airlines Antonov Airlines is a Ukraine, Ukrainian cargo airline, a division of the Antonov, Antonov aviation company. It operates international charter services in the oversized-cargo market. Its main base is Hostomel Airport near Kyiv. In the aftermath ...
opened a UK office at Stansted for cargo charter flights, generally of outsize loads.


COVID-19 pandemic and recovery

The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
had a severe impact on London Stansted Airport, leading to a significant reduction in passenger numbers and operational challenges. In 2020, the airport served just over 7.5 million passengers, a large decline from its pre-pandemic levels of around 28 million annually. At the height of the crisis, Stansted experienced a 95% drop in passenger footfall compared to 2019. Cargo operations, however, saw a 53% increase as the airport adapted to new demands. Airport authorities described the situation as an unprecedented crisis, likening the passenger levels to those seen in the early 1990s. As travel restrictions began to ease in July 2021, London Stansted Airport experienced widespread disruption as passenger numbers surged during the summer holidays. The airport faced staff shortages and increased COVID-19 documentation requirements, leading to long queues and chaotic scenes, with insufficient personnel available to manage the crowds effectively. The airport showed signs of recovery by late 2022, with passenger levels nearing 97% of pre-pandemic volumes. In the wake of this recovery, in 2023 Stansted Airport announced a £1.1 billion expansion plan including a £600m extension of the terminal and facilities, to increase its capacity to serve up to 43 million passengers per year. This expansion is expected to add 200 flights per day to the airport's schedule and create over 5,000 jobs over the next five years.


Infrastructure


Terminal and satellite buildings

The terminal is separated into three general areas: Check-in and main concourse along the front, departures towards the southern end, and international arrivals to the northern end of the building. There is a separate baggage reclaim for Domestic arrivals. No gates are in the main terminal building; instead, they are located in three separate oblong satellite buildings, one connected to the main terminal by air bridges, one by the Stansted Airport Transit System people mover, and one by both. Four further bussing gates are accessed from below the main terminal building. The airport has 52 gates with 12 serviceable jetbridges. Long-term plans for Satellite 4, approved in 1999 and revised in 2005, have not been realised, but its site was developed as remote stands in 2018. As of 2013, Satellite 1 (Gates 1-19) had been redeveloped with the aim to attract more long-haul airlines to Stansted. Furthermore, a dual
jetbridge A jet bridge is an enclosed connector which most commonly extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, and in some instances from a port to a boat or ship, allowing passengers to board and disembark without heading outside and being exp ...
has been added at Stand 13 (Boarding Gate 12), allowing faster boarding and deboarding of wide-body aircraft. 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 09:00 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) 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 8188. 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.
Common Travel Area The Common Travel Area (CTA; , ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Governed by non-binding agreements ...
arrivals are coached from stand, and taken to a separate entrance located at the North East of the terminal which leads to the main terminal baggage reclaim belts, bypassing Border Force, but without bypassing Customs.


Car parks

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.


Control tower

Stansted's
air traffic control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled ai ...
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.


Cargo handling

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 trijet wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner manufactured by American manufacturer McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following McDonnell Douglas DC-10, DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 ...
and the
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
. 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.


Other facilities

Titan Airways Titan Airways Limited is a British charter airline 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 cargo char ...
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 (later KLM uk) 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 existed its head office was at the Enterprise House. Since 2004, Stansted also offers a range of hotel accommodation including
Holiday Inn Express Holiday Inn Express by IHG is an American-based mid-priced hotel chain within the IHG Hotels & Resorts family of brands. Originally founded as an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering Hotel#Economy_and_limited_service, limited services at ...
,
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 Limited, a subsidiary of Whitbread, is a British limited-service hotel chain with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. As of 2025, the company owned and operated over 800 h ...
, and
Radisson Blu Radisson Blu is an international hotel brand managed and operated by Radisson Hotels, and owned by Choice Hotels, Jinjiang International and the Radisson Hotel Group. Founded as the SAS Hotels in 1960, the Radisson Blu brand name came into exi ...
hotels and the recently opened
Hampton by Hilton Hampton by Hilton, formerly (and still commonly called) Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale limited serv ...
, 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.


Proposed developments


Runway


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 British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015. One of 101 female ...
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 Denh ...
, 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 lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
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, runway expansion plans for Stansted Airport subsequently defined in the Air Transport white paper in December 2003. 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.


Terminal


Ongoing Terminal extension

In July 2023,
MAG Mag, MAG, Mags or mags may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''MAG'' (video game), released in 2010 * ''Mág'' (film), a 1988 Czech film * ''Mag'' (Slovenian magazine), published from 1995 to 2010 * '' The Mag'', a British music magazin ...
announced a new proposal for a reconfiguration and three-bay extension to the existing terminal building, which will increase its size by a third. This plan aims to create increased passenger amenities, with an expected cost of £600 million. The extension plan will increase the terminal's size by 16,500 square metres, and is designed to accommodate an increase in passenger capacity from 35 million to 43 million annual passengers. On 1 November 2023, the government's Planning Inspectorate approved the expansion plan. The new terminal design will incorporate a larger departure lounge, an enlarged security hall, and new amenities, including additional shops, bars, and restaurants. The baggage reclaim area will also feature new carousels and increased baggage handling capacity. The redevelopment will include the installation new check-in desks, and next-generation security scanners. Satellite 2 (gates 20-39) is also set to receive an overhaul, with upgraded floor and gate area seating. The existing gate areas will also be reconfigured to model conventional gate-rooms as seen in other airports, with the aim to create more space for passengers when pre-boarding their aircraft As part of the redevelopment project, the existing passenger transit system will be decommissioned and replaced with new walkways that will connect the terminal to the satellite buildings. Additionally, the immigration hall will be relocated to a new area downstairs within the terminal. Also included in the programme is the installation of a 14.3-megawatt on-site solar farm. Construction of the extension is planned to begin in 2025 and is expected to last two to three years.


Proposed Satellite 4

Plans for Satellite 4 have never been realised. Located to the northeast of Satellite 3, Satellite 4 was approved for
planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...
in 1999 as part of an expansion strategy to increase the airport's capacity from 8 to 15 million passengers per annum. A revised scheme in 2005 included a pier link for the proposed satellite, with construction planned for 2013-2015, however plans did not proceed after the sale of BAA to
Ferrovial Ferrovial S.E. (), previously Grupo Ferrovial, is a Spanish multinational company that operates in the infrastructure sector for transportation and mobility with four divisions: Highways, Airports, Construction, and Mobility and Energy Infrastru ...
, and construction never commenced. In 2018, the site of Satellite 4 was instead built as remote stands. The current expansion plans for 2024 do not include Satellite 4, and instead focuses on other airfield and terminal improvements.


Formerly proposed Arrivals Terminal

In December 2016, London Stansted Airport unveiled plans for a new £130 million arrivals terminal aimed to handle increasing passenger numbers and relieve pressure on the existing single-terminal setup, which is the busiest of its kind in the UK. The new arrivals terminal was to be located adjacent to the existing terminal and
Radisson Blu Radisson Blu is an international hotel brand managed and operated by Radisson Hotels, and owned by Choice Hotels, Jinjiang International and the Radisson Hotel Group. Founded as the SAS Hotels in 1960, the Radisson Blu brand name came into exi ...
Hotel. It would feature a larger immigration and baggage reclaim area. This new facility would allow the existing terminal to be reconfigured exclusively for departures, expanding space for check-in, security, and the international departures lounge, and would make London Stansted the only airport in the UK with separate arrivals and departures terminals. Initial 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, due to fluctuating travel demand and economic uncertainties. In 2020, Uttlesford District Council refused planning permission for the expansion plan, but the
Planning Inspectorate The Planning Inspectorate (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing recommendatio ...
overturned this decision following a public inquiry in 2021. Despite the approval, further delays and changes to the airport's priorities led to the arrivals terminal being deferred. In 2023, following a review of various proposals for increasing terminal capacity, Stansted Airport decided to cancel the arrivals terminal project, opting instead to focus on expanding the existing 1991 terminal building.


Formerly proposed artwork

As part of the terminal's initial development, in 1988
Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...
and British architectural artist
Brian Clarke Sir Brian Clarke (born 2 July 1953) is a British Painting, painter, architectural artist, designer and Printmaking, printmaker, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, symbolist paintings, set designs, and collaborations w ...
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 Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
, along the full 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
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
s and a 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.


Airlines and destinations


Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Stansted Airport: ;Notes
British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
flights to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
operate as a one-way service. The return flights are destined for London-City. The service is a result of limited weekend opening times of London-City to decrease nuisance for nearby residents.


Cargo


Route development

Long-haul scheduled services commenced in 1987 with a short lived service from the Scottish airline Highland Express to Newark Liberty International Airport via Prestwick Airport. In the early 1990s
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and
Chicago–O'Hare Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...
, but the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.
Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...
also operated a short lived service from May 02 2001 from
Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...
, but this service was stopped shortly after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
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 City, New York. On 26 April 2008 Eos Airlines announced its plans to file ba ...
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, ...
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, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, and
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. 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
2000s energy crisis From the mid-1980s to September 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of crude oil on NYMEX was generally under US$25/barrel in 2008 dollars. During 2003, the price rose above $30, reached $60 by 11 August 2005, and peaked at $14 ...
, the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, 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, alongside its services to
Gatwick Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-bu ...
, and consolidated all operations at
Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
. Long-haul transatlantic operations made a brief return to Stansted in June 2010, when
Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an ultra-low cost airline in the United States. Based at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport with headquarters on airport property, Sun Country operates to about 140 destinations in the United States, Canad ...
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 is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
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 twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...
, 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 Berhad, operating as AirAsia X (formerly FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.), is a Malaysian long-haul, low-cost airline and a subsidiary of the AirAsia, AirAsia Group. The airline was initially established in 2006 as FlyAsian Express (FAX) an ...
providing direct flights to
Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the main international airport serving Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of downtown Kuala Lumpur and serves the Greater Kuala L ...
; however, on 24 October 2011, this service moved to
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...
before being later withdrawn completely. Low-cost airline
Primera Air Primera Air Scandinavia Aktieselskab, A/S, was a Denmark, 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 Sea, Mediterrane ...
launched non-stop flights from Stansted to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Newark, Toronto-Pearson and Washington–Dulles, until the collapse of the airline meant the discontinuation of the routes by 2018, leaving Stansted without transatlantic routes once more. In 2018,
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
began operating daily flights to its hub at Dubai-International using its
Boeing 777-300ER The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long haul, long-range Wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the mo ...
aircraft. The route has since increased to a twice daily service. The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
negatively impacted the aviation industry, with Stansted Airport not being immune from the fallout. Ural Airlines (to Moscow–Domodedovo),
Scandinavian Airlines The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden. Including its subsidiaries SAS Link and ...
(to
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
),
Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...
(to
Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
and
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
),
Air Senegal Air Senegal is the flag carrier of the Republic of Senegal. Created in 2016, it is state owned through investment arm Caisse des Dépots et Consignation du Sénégal. It is based at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal. His ...
(to Dakar–Diass) and
El Al EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd. (), trading as EL AL (, "Upwards", "To the Skies", or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ) is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve ...
(to
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
), were either scheduled to begin in 2020, or had recently began operation but have since not returned. Additionally,
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 airlin ...
, one of the largest operators at the airport at the time, 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.


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. Passenger numbers for 2023 was 28 million.


Traffic figures


Busiest routes


Ground transport


Airside Transit system

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 Stansted transit is only accessible "airside" (i.e. only after passengers pass through security). As part of the airport expansion plans, it is planned to decommission the Transit System in spring 2026 to make way for an expanded terminal. The transit will be replaced with pedestrian bridges.


Trains

Stansted Airport railway station Stansted Airport railway station is a railway station serving London Stansted Airport in Essex, England. The terminus of a dedicated branch line off the West Anglia Main Line, the station is down the line from Liverpool Street station, London Li ...
is situated in the terminal building directly below the main concourse.stanstedairport.com – To & From the Airport
retrieved 25 April 2017.
Services to London are on the Stansted Express train to and from Liverpool Street in Central London. This service operates every 15minutes and the usual journey time is between 45 and 53minutes. Liverpool Street is served by
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
and the
Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...
, offering access throughout London. The Stansted Express also calls at
Tottenham Hale Tottenham Hale is a district of north London and part of the London Borough of Haringey, bounded by the River Lea and located to the south/south-east of Tottenham proper. From 1850 to 1965, it was part of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham, in Mi ...
, for the Underground's
Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in South London, and in the east, via the West End of London, 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 comp ...
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 England, English village and civil parishes in England, 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, increasi ...
,
Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...
and/or Harlow Town en route to London Liverpool Street.
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...
operates a two-hourly service from the airport to
Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street, also known as New Street station, 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 ...
, via
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
, , and
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
.
Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city se ...
operates services to
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
via Cambridge.


Buses and coaches

Scheduled express bus or coach services which run to and from London are provided by
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
and
Flibco Flibco, also known as Flibco.com or Flibtravel International, is a public transportation company that manages short-medium distance bus lines to airports especially in Europe. Flibco is part of Sales-Lentz Group (SLG). It is known in Germany, Bel ...
. The bus station is next to the terminal building. Airport Bus Express operates service A21 to and from
Liverpool Street Station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major 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 i ...
via Stratford. National Express operates nearly 200 round trips a day and runs services A6 to
Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...
typically every 30minutes and taking 100minutes (via Golders Green, Finchley Road, St. John's Wood, Baker Street and Marble Arch), A7 to
Victoria Coach Station Victoria Coach Station in the City of Westminster is the largest bus station, coach station in London, and a bus terminus, terminus for medium and long distance Coach transport in the United Kingdom, coach services in the United Kingdom. It is ...
typically every 30minutes and taking 115minutes (via Bow, Mile End, Whitechapel, Southwark, and Waterloo), A8 to King's Cross Station typically every 30minutes and taking 115minutes (via Tottenham Hale, Shoreditch and Liverpool Street) and A9 non-stop to Stratford typically up to three times an hour and taking 50minutes. National Express also runs direct coach services to the airport from
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a company wholly owned by ...
and Heathrow, and additionally from Birmingham (11 per day), Oxford (eight per day), Norwich (ten per day), and Cambridge (11 per day). Stansted is also the start of the Essex Airlink X30 coach service to
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
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 Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
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 Charing Cross#Official use as central point, centre of London. The airport straddles the boundaries b ...
, the X20 coach service to
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
via Braintree and the X10 coach service to
Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...
via Chelmsford, all operated hourly 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 Ea ...
. 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 The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the A406 road, North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14 road (Great Britain), A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans ...
and to Braintree,
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
, 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-o ...
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 30 April 1956, a Scottish Airlines Avro 685 York C.1 suffered a runway excursion during a rejected takeoff, winding up in a drain on the side of the runway, collapsing the undercarriage. Two passengers died out of 54 on board. * On 23 December 1957, a Scottish Airlines Avro 685 York C.1, a cargo flight, crashed on its third approach to Stansted striking a tree 3/4 of a mile short of the runway, crashing in flames. All four occupants died. * On 27 February 1982, an
Air Tanzania Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) () is the flag carrier airline of Tanzania. It is based in Dar es Salaam, with its Airline hub, hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport. It was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) in 1977 aft ...
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 1,104,521 and a population of 3,699,872 in the region ...
to
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
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. 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 Fly ...
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (formerly Avro 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 absorptio ...
carrying the Leeds United F.C. was brought down immediately after takeoff when its starboard engine exploded. 40 passengers were onboard (18 from the Leeds team). Only two passengers were injured. * On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, a Boeing 747-200F, 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, England, 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 med ...
near the village of Great Hallingbury. * On 6 February 2000, an
Ariana Afghan Airlines Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. () also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan. Founded in 1955, Ariana is state owned and the oldest airline in the country. The company has its main base at Kabul Interna ...
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...
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. The motive behind the hijack was to gain asylum in the UK, sparking another 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, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...
Flight 709 from
Lahore, Pakistan Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of 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 is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon. As of t ...
Flight UL503 inbound to Heathrow was escorted by RAF Typhoons to Stansted Airport after being diverted. Two men were detained for endangering an aircraft, and one was formally arrested.


Protest incidents

* In 2008, 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, an environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a "stockade" on a
taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...
, which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled. * In March 2018, a group of activists delayed a deportation flight to Nigeria. Fifteen of the protestors were found guilty of "intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome", under the ''Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990''. This verdict on the ''Stansted 15'' was described in ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' 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, th ...
on public dissent.


See also

*
List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies This list of airports in the United Kingdom is a partial list of public active aerodromes (airports and airfields) in the UK and the British Crown Dependencies. Most private airfields are not listed. The ICAO codes for airports in the United ...
*
Airports of London The Greater London Built-up Area, metropolitan area of London, England, United Kingdom, is served by six international airports and several smaller airports. Together, these airports constitute the World's busiest city airport systems by passen ...
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List of Royal Air Force stations This list of Royal Air Force stations is an overview of all current stations of the Royal Air Force (RAF) throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training airbases, support, administrative and training station ...


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 Buildings and structures in Uttlesford