London Stansted Airport

London Stansted Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Manchester Airports Group
Operator Stansted Airport Limited
Serves London, United Kingdom and the county of Essex
Location Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL 348 ft / 106 m
Coordinates 51°53′06″N 000°14′06″E / 51.88500°N 0.23500°E / 51.88500; 0.23500Coordinates: 51°53′06″N 000°14′06″E / 51.88500°N 0.23500°E / 51.88500; 0.23500
Website stanstedairport.com
Map
EGSS
Location in Essex
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 3,049 10,003 Grooved Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 25,902,618
Passenger change 16-17 Increase6.5%
Aircraft movements 189,919
Movements change 16-17 Increase5.3%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

London Stansted Airport (IATA: STN, ICAO: EGSS) is an international airport located at Stansted Mountfitchet in the district of Uttlesford in Essex, 42 mi (68 km) northeast of Central London and 0.9 mi (1.4 km) from the Hertfordshire border.

London Stansted currently serves over 170 destinations across Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, with more scheduled European destinations than any other airport in the UK.[3] Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair, with over 130 destinations served by the airline. In 2015 it was the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester. Stansted's runway is also used by private companies such as the Harrods Aviation, Titan Airways and XJet terminals which are private ground handlers who are able to handle private flights, charter flights and state visits. STN also has a transit inside which helps people to travel to their designated gates and terminals.

The airport is owned and operated by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which also owns and operates two other UK airports. MAG agreed to buy the airport from Heathrow Airport Holdings, formerly BAA, on 18 January 2013,[4] and the sale was completed for £1.5 billion on 28 February 2013.[5] BAA had been required to sell the airport following a ruling originally made by the Competition Commission in March 2009.

Overview

London Stansted Airport has one main passenger terminal, near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet. There are three passenger satellites in which the departure gates are situated; 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 Associates with input from the structural engineer Peter Rice , and features a "floating" roof, supported by a space frame 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, go through security and on to the departure gates all on the same level.

From 1997 to 2007, Stansted saw 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 to 2012. 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.[2]

History

Where Stansted Airport is now, as about 1935
Unidentified B-26 Marauder of the 344th Bomb Group at Stansted, 1944.
Avro York of the based Air Charter Ltd taking off on a trooping flight in 1955 with wartime hangars in the background

Second World War

The airfield opened in 1943 and was used during the Second World War as RAF Stansted Mountfitchet by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces 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 Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy bomber airfield. As well as an operational bomber base, Stansted was also a Air Technical Services Command (ATSC) 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.

Post-war use

After the withdrawal of the Americans on 12 August 1945, Stansted was taken over by the Air Ministry 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.[6]

In November 1946, the recently established British cargo airline, London Aero and Motor Services (LAMS), equipped with ex-RAF Handley Page Halifaxes, moved into Stansted, using it as a base for its operations, until it was wound up in July 1948.[7]

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 transfer to NATO was never realised, however, and the airport continued in civil use, ending up under BAA control in 1966.

During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s the Fire Service Training School (FSTS) 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

The Terminal building at night
The Arrivals hall in the Terminal building, which was extended in 2008.
Inside the Terminal building

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.

View of Stansted from the air.

In 1968–71 the Commission for the Third London Airport (the "Roskill Commission") did not include Stansted as one of its four short-listed sites and recommended that Cublington in Buckinghamshire should be developed as London's third airport.[8]

From the outset, however, BAA and the British government planned to develop Stansted into London's third airport, to relieve Heathrow and Gatwick of excess congestion in the future. The airport's first terminal building opened in 1969 and was expanded the next year to handle the growing number of passengers.

Since 1984 the airport's capacity had been limited to a maximum throughput of 25 million passengers per annum (25 mppa) in accordance with recommendations made by the 1984 public inquiry and confirmed by the government of the day.

In 1984, the government approved 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. The current terminal building was designed by architect Norman Foster. Construction was undertaken by John Laing and took place between 1988 and 1991,[9] costing £100 million.[10] In 1990 it was awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award. As part of the development, a railway branch was built to the airport, and Stansted Airport railway station opened in 1991.

Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and O'Hare International Airport, however the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.[11] Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark Liberty International Airport, but this service was stopped shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Long-haul services to the United States returned in late 2005, when Eos Airlines and MAXjet Airways commenced all-business-class services from Stansted to New York–JFK Airport. In 2006, MAXjet expanded their service with flights to Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and 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 jump in fuel price, weakening economic performance and worsening credit environment at the time[12][13][14], 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 the airport.

Latest developments

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. The flights made a re-fuelling stop-over in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador as the aircraft used for the flight, a Boeing 737-800, would not be able to complete a non-stop 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 were then discontinued 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 providing direct flights to Kuala Lumpur; however, on 24 October 2011, this service moved to Gatwick Airport before being later withdrawn completely.

A major expansion programme to the existing terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, adding nearly 5,900 m2 (64,000 sq ft) of floorspace to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall and a hypostyle arrivals hall with improved facilities.

In November 2006, Uttlesford 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) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears), who jointly allowed the applicant's appeal in October 2008. A series of legal challenges by community campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) were rejected by the High Court during 2009.

In 2008, 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, the environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a 'stockade' on a taxiway which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.[15]

The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.[16] The ruling was quashed within a year following an appeal but was subsequently upheld.[17] The Competition Commission reconfirmed its ruling in July 2011 that the airport be sold,[18] and the Court of Appeal turned down an appeal by BAA on 26 July 2012.[19] In light of the result, BAA chose not to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and confirmed on 20 August 2012 that the airport would be sold.[20]

In 2017 Antonov Airlines opened a UK office at Stansted for cargo charter flights, generally of outsize loads.[21]

Infrastructure

Terminal and Satellite buildings

Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and 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. There are no gates in the main Terminal building; instead there are three separate oblong satellite buildings in which the gates are located. A fourth satellite building was planned, in addition to an extension to the main terminal building, but as yet has never been completed.

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 period.[22] 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.

Satellite BuildingGate NumbersPassenger AccessNotes
Satellite 11-19Transit systemUsed by most airlines, except Ryanair. Furthest in distance but first stop on transit from the main terminal
Satellite 2 20-39Transit systemUsed by Ryanair. Situated in the upper level of Satellite 2 accessed via the second stop on transit from the main terminal
81-88Walkway from main terminalUsed for UK domestic flights but may be used for international departures; provides exit route for UK arrivals
Satellite 340-59Walkway from main terminalUsed exclusively by Ryanair; this building is not equipped with jet bridges
APV 90-93 Walkway from main terminal Used by Ryanair during peak times; acts as a terminal for buses to remote stands.

Domestic arrivals 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

The Radisson Blu hotel which is just a short walk from the Terminal building.

Stansted has a variety of car parking including Long, Mid and Short Stay options along with Valet and Meet and Greet Parking services. There are also two drop off areas available. The express area is located near the short stay car park while a free service is within the mid stay. A fee is charged for the express service.[23] 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, Premier Inn and Radisson Blu 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. There are regular bus service transfers between the Terminal building and Stansted's car parks and hotels.

Control tower

The Terminal Building with the adjacent Control Tower

Stansted's air traffic control tower was completed in 1996 and is among the tallest in Britain and was the tallest at the time of its construction.[24] It is located on the southside of the airfield alongside the main terminal building. It has a green-coloured tinted glass which matches that of the windows on the satellite buildings. 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 and the Boeing 747. 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 has its head office in the Enterprise House on the airport property.[25] 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.[26][27] When Buzz existed, its head office was in the Endeavour House.[28] When AB Airlines existed, its head office was in the Enterprise House.[29] For a period Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House at Stansted.[30] When Go Fly existed its head office was at the Enterprise House.[31]

Proposed developments

Abandoned plans for a second runway

On 11 March 2008, BAA submitted a planning application (titled "G2") to expand the airport by 3 sq mi (8 km2) 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.[32]

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.[33]

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 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, 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.[33]

Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE)

The advocacy group Stop Stansted Expansion ("SSE"), 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.[34]

It still actively campaigns against what its members see as the 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,[35] 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.[36]

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, however 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.[37]

New Arrivals Terminal

An arrivals terminal is due to be built at Stansted, with construction due to begin in 2018, taking three years to complete. The site will 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.[38]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Stansted:[39]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Corsica Seasonal: Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi (begins 18 May 2019),[40] Figari
Air Moldova Chișinău
Arkia Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
AtlasGlobal Istanbul–Atatürk
Aurigny Guernsey
Austrian Airlines Seasonal charter: Innsbruck[41]
BH Air Seasonal: Burgas
British Airways Berlin–Tegel, Milan–Linate
Seasonal: Chambéry, Faro, Florence, Ibiza, Málaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca
Cobalt Air Larnaca
easyJet Amsterdam, Belfast–International, Bilbao, Cagliari, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ljubljana, Málaga, Munich, Naples, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Prague
Seasonal: Asturias (ends 28 October 2018), Bastia, Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Grenoble, Hurghada (begins 2 November 2018),[42] Ibiza, Lyon (begins 16 December 2018),[43] Menorca, Reykjavik–Keflavík, Split, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion (begins 3 November 2018),[44] Zakynthos
Emirates Dubai–International[45]
Eurowings Cologne/Bonn, Hannover, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna (ends 28 October 2018)[46]
flybmi Derry
Jet2.com Alicante, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Málaga, Paphos, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Almería, Antalya, Bodrum, Burgas (begins 6 May 2019), Chania (begins 3 May 2019), Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Girona, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Izmir (begins 2 May 2019),[47] Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Lleida (begins 23 December 2018),[48] Lyon,[49] Malta, Menorca, Naples, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Split, Thessaloniki, Turin (begins 22 December 2018),[50] Verona, Zakynthos
Laudamotion Vienna (begins 28 October 2018)
Seasonal: Innsbruck (begins 9 December 2018)[51]
Loganair Dundee
Montenegro AirlinesSeasonal: Tivat[52]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, İzmir
Pobeda Saint Petersburg[53]
Ryanair Aalborg, Aarhus, Agadir, Alicante, Ancona, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Basel/Mulhouse (ends 27 October 2018), Belfast–International,[54] Bergamo, Bergerac, Berlin–Schönefeld, Biarritz, Billund, Bologna, Bordeaux, Bratislava, Bremen, Brindisi, Brno, Bucharest, Budapest, Bydgoszcz, Cagliari, Carcassonne, Castellón, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Cork, Dinard, Dortmund, Dublin, Edinburgh,[55] Eindhoven, Faro, Fez, Frankfurt, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Genoa, Glasgow (ends 27 October 2018),[55] Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Grenoble, Hahn, Hamburg, Jerez de la Frontera, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Katowice, Kaunas, Kerry, Kiev-Boryspil (begins 28 October 2018), Knock, Kraków, La Rochelle, Lamezia Terme, Lanzarote, Leipzig/Halle, Limoges, Lisbon, Lourdes/Tarbes, Lublin, Łódź, Luxembourg, Lviv (begins 2 November 2018), Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Marrakesh, Marseille, Memmingen, Milan–Malpensa, Murcia, Nantes (begins 28 October 2018), Naples, Nice, Nuremberg, Olsztyn, Oslo–Gardermoen, Ostrava, Palanga, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Pardubice, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Plovdiv, Podgorica, Poitiers, Ponta Delgada, Porto, Poznań, Prague, Rabat, Reus, Riga, Rome–Ciampino, Rzeszów, Salzburg, Sandefjord, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Shannon, Sofia, Stockholm–Skavsta, Stockholm–Västerås, Strasbourg, Szczecin, Tallinn, Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Toulouse, Tours, Treviso, Trieste, Turin, Valencia, Verona, Vilnius, Warsaw–Modlin, Weeze, Wrocław, Zaragoza
Seasonal: Alghero, Almería, Béziers, Brive, Chania, Clermont-Ferrand, Comiso, Corfu, Dole (begins 22 December 2018),[56] Girona, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Linz, Nîmes, Perpignan, Pula, Rhodes, Rijeka,[57] Rimini, Zadar
Thomas Cook Airlines Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum (begins 20 July 2019),[58] Corfu, Dalaman, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Kefalonia, Kos (ends 25 October 2018), Lanzarote, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Rhodes, Skiathos, Tenerife–South, Zakynthos
Titan Airways Seasonal charter: Calvi,[59] Chambéry,[60] Tarbes/Lourdes,[61] Preveza/Lefkada,[62] Zadar[62]
TUI Airways Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hurghada (begins 7 May 2019),[63] Paphos, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Antalya, Burgas,[63] Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Kos, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Zakynthos
Seasonal charter: Innsbruck,[60] Salzburg,[60] Turin[60]
Widerøe Kristiansand[64]
WOW air Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík[65]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Asiana Cargo Milan–Malpensa, Moscow–Domodedovo, Seoul–Incheon
ASL Airlines Belgium Liège
Astral Aviation Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
CargoLogicAir Atlanta, Mexico City
Cargolux Hong Kong,[66] Luxembourg,[66]
Cargolux Italia Milan–Malpensa[67]
China Southern Cargo Guangzhou,[68] Frankfurt
FedEx Express Cologne/Bonn, Dublin, East Midlands, Indianapolis, Memphis, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
FedEx Feeder Amsterdam, Glasgow, Manchester
Martinair Amsterdam, Bogotá, Miami
Panalpina Huntsville, Luxembourg, Guadalajara
Qatar Airways Cargo Basel, Brussels, Doha, Frankfurt
Royal Mail Belfast–International, Edinburgh, Exeter, Guernsey, Jersey, Newcastle upon Tyne
Turkish Airlines Cargo Istanbul–Atatürk[69]
UPS Airlines Cologne/Bonn, Newark, Philadelphia

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.[70] Consistent year-on-year growth followed and by 1997 the total had reached over 5 million, rapidly rising to almost 12 million in 2000.[2]

In 2007 passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for 5 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.[2] 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.[2]

Passenger numbers for the year to September 2016 increased by 8.4% to over 24 million for the first time since 2007.[71]

Traffic figures

London Stansted Airport Passenger Totals 2000–2017 (millions) [2]
Updated: 11 February 2018.
Number of Passengers[nb 1]Percentage ChangeNumber of Movements[nb 2]Freight (tonnes)
2000 11,878,190–165,779167,823
2001 13,665,333Increase15.0%169,583165,660
2002 16,054,522Increase17.5%170,544184,449
2003 18,722,112Increase16.6%186,475198,565
2004 20,910,842Increase11.7%192,245225,772
2005 21,998,673Increase5.2%193,511237,045
2006 23,687,013Increase7.7%206,693224,312
2007 23,779,697Increase0.4%208,462203,747
2008 22,360,364Decrease6.0%193,282197,738
2009 19,957,077Decrease10.7%167,817182,810
2010 18,573,592Decrease6.9%155,140202,238
2011 18,052,843Decrease2.8%148,317202,593
2012 17,472,699Decrease3.2%143,511214,160
2013 17,852,393Increase2.2%146,324211,952
2014 19,941,593Increase11.7%157,117204,725
2015 22,519,178Increase12.9%168,629207,996
2016 24,320,071Increase8.0%180,430223,203
2017 25,902,618Increase6.5%189,919236,892
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]
  1. ↑ number of passengers including both domestic and international
  2. ↑ number of movements represents total aircraft takeoffs and landings during that year

Busiest routes

Busiest routes to and from Stansted (2017)[72]
RankAirportTotal
passengers		Change
2016 / 17
1Republic of Ireland Dublin890,741Decrease 2.6%
2United Kingdom Edinburgh720,271Decrease 13.9%
3Italy Rome–Ciampino616,558Increase 2.6%
4United Kingdom Glasgow527,139Decrease 19.2%
5Spain Madrid475,209Decrease 4.9%
6Italy Bergamo472,393Decrease 3.4%
7Spain Málaga466,283Increase 16.9%
8Spain Barcelona464,280Decrease 8.6%
9Spain Palma de Mallorca448,781Increase 20.7%
10Germany Berlin-Schönefeld437,820Decrease 4.0%
11Germany Cologne414,955Decrease 8.1%
12Poland Warsaw-Modlin412,432Decrease 4.6%
13Hungary Budapest390,343Increase 5.5%
14United Kingdom Belfast–International375,785Increase 0.5%
15Portugal Lisbon353,212Decrease 6.7%
16Republic of Ireland Cork351,914Increase 3.7%
17Poland Krakow347,441Decrease 1.3%
18Netherlands Amsterdam338,839Increase 4.2%
19Czech Republic Prague329,285Decrease 6.4%
20Italy Pisa328,318Decrease 3.3%
21Portugal Faro326,420Increase 24.0%
22Italy Treviso323,953Decrease 4.3%
23Spain Alicante320,486Increase 36.9%
24Spain Tenerife-South312,121Increase 33.0%
25Turkey Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen305,510Increase 32.9%

Ground transport

Transit system

The transit system which links the main terminal building to satellite buildings 1 (gates 1 – 19) and 2 (gates 20 – 39).

The Stansted Airport Transit System connects the terminal to the satellite buildings via a 2 mi (3 km) free automated people mover service which runs on dual concrete track. The system uses a mix of Adtranz C-100 and Bombardier Innovia APM 100 vehicles to carry passengers to departure gates. Unlike the similar Gatwick Airport transit, the Stansted transit is only accessible "airside" (i.e. only after passengers pass through security).

Trains

The Stansted Express at London Liverpool Street.

Stansted Airport railway station is situated in the terminal building directly below the main concourse.[73]

Services to London are on the Stansted Express train to and from London Liverpool Street in Central London. This service operates every 15 minutes and the usual journey time is roughly 45 to 53 minutes. Liverpool Street is served by the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and the Metropolitan lines of the London Underground network, offering access throughout London. The Stansted Express also calls at Tottenham Hale, for the Underground's Victoria line and connections to various destinations in North London and the West End. Some Stansted Express services also call at Stansted Mountfitchet, Bishop's Stortford and/or Harlow Town en-route to London Liverpool Street.[73]

CrossCountry operates services from the airport to Birmingham New Street, via Cambridge, Peterborough and Leicester, which run every 60 minutes. Greater Anglia operates local stopping services to Cambridge.[73]

Buses and coaches

Scheduled express bus or coach services run to and from Stratford (45 minutes), Victoria Coach Station (75 minutes), Liverpool Street Station (55 minutes) and Golders Green (70 minutes) (all in London), costing about half the train fare but taking longer. The bus station is next to the terminal building. National Express runs scheduled but infrequent direct coach services to the airport from Oxford as service JL737, taking about three hours, and hourly services to and from Cambridge.[73]

Local bus services operate to the nearby communities the main most notably the 510/509/508 (Harlow to Stansted via Stansted Mountfitchet, Parsonage Lane and Takeley respectively), 308 (Bishops Stortford to Stansted) runs Sundays via Parsonage Lane. Villagelink services 5 and 7 connect to many of the nearby villages. Journeys are free of charge within the vicinity of the airport, by reason of a green travel plan instituted by the BAA to reduce staff demands for parking space.[73]

Stansted is also the start of the X30 and X10 coach services to Southend-on-Sea and Basildon via Chelmsford and London Southend Airport respectively, operated by First Essex, this route runs hourly 24 hours a day. [73]

Roads

Stansted is connected to northeast London and Cambridge by the M11 motorway and to Braintree, Colchester and Harwich by the A120, which is dual-carriageway until Braintree. The road distance to London is 37 miles (60 km).[73]

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.[74] The airport also offers mid stay parking, closer to the terminal than its long stay spaces.[74] 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[75]

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.[76] 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.[77]

  • On 27 February 1982 an Air Tanzania Boeing 737-2R8C landed at the airport after having been hijacked on an internal flight from Mwanza to Dar Es Salaam 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.[78][79]
  • 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 near the village of Great Hallingbury.
  • On 6 February 2000, an Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 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.[80] Nine hijackers were jailed but their convictions for hijacking were quashed for misdirection of the jury in 2003, and in July 2004, it was ruled that they could not be deported from the UK.[81]
  • On 24 May 2013, Pakistan International Airlines 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.[82]
  • On 21 September 2013, SriLankan Airlines 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.[83]
  • On 4 October 2017, RAF Typhoons from the Quick Reaction Alert 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.[84]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "London Stansted – EGSS". Nats-uk.ead-it.com. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Aircraft and passenger traffic data from UK airports". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Based on IATA schedules for August 2016
  4. ↑ "Stansted Airport being sold to Manchester for £1.5bn". BBC News. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Sinead Holland (28 February 2013). "£1.5 billion Stansted Airport sale complete". Harlow Star. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Wright Aircraft Illustrated February 1978, p. 70.
  7. ↑ Wright Aircraft Illustrated February 1978, pp. 70–71.
  8. ↑ Roskill (1971). Report, Commission on the Third London Airport. London: HMSO.
  9. ↑ Ritchie, p. 173
  10. ↑ Above Us The Skies: The Story Of BAA – 1991 (Michael Donne – BAA plc), p. 62-63
  11. ↑ Harrison, Michael (1 April 1993). "American Airlines to quit Stansted: Long haul carrier scraps Chicago service". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  12. ↑ "Why Eos failed - Business Traveller – The leading magazine for frequent flyers". 27 April 2008.
  13. ↑ Association, Press (24 December 2007). "MAXjet goes bankrupt" – via www.theguardian.com.
  14. ↑ "American Airlines Eliminates JFK-Stansted Service". 28 May 2008.
  15. ↑ "Runway protest strands passengers". BBC News. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  16. ↑ "BAA could challenge airport sale". BBC News. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "BAA sell-off back on track after court ruling". BBC News. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "BAA loses final Competition Commission sell-off ruling". BBC News. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "BAA loses latest appeal against Stansted sale". BBC News. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  20. ↑ "Stansted Airport to be sold by BAA". BBC News. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  21. ↑ "UK office handles Antonov Airlines charter". aircargonews. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  22. ↑ "Airport Management Report" (PDF). Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "Pick Up and Drop Off". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Stansted Airport Control Tower – MDA Consulting". Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  25. ↑ "Contact Us." Titan Airways. Retrieved 16 December 2011. "Titan Airways Ltd Enterprise House Stansted Airport Essex CM24 1RN"
  26. ↑ "Home-page." [sic] AirUK. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  27. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 18–24 March 1998. 82.
  28. ↑ "Contact Us." Buzz. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  29. ↑ "An Introduction to AB Airlines." AB Airlines. 30 January 1998. Retrieved 7 February 2011. "AB Airlines – Internet Enquiry Office Enterprise House, Stansted Airport Essex. CM24 1RW"
  30. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 10 April 1969. 580. "Head Office: Lloyd House, First Avenue, Stansted Airport, Essex."
  31. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 27 March – 2 April 2001. 77. "Enterprise House, 2nd Floor, Stansted Airport, Stansted, Essex, CM241SB, UK"
  32. ↑ "£2.5bn Stansted Generation 2 planning bid submitted". Transport Briefing. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008.
  33. 1 2 BBC News: Heathrow and Stansted runway plans scrapped by BAA, 24 May 2010. Visited 20 June 2011
  34. ↑ [ARCHIVED CONTENT] The Future of Air Transport – White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill. Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  35. ↑ Airports Commission. GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  36. ↑ Stansted Airport Airfield Fire Services 30 March 1998 Emerald Airways HS748 engine exploded on take off whilst carrying the Leeds United football team, aircraft written off but no one injured. Captain John Hackett received awards for his actions saving the passengers lives.
  37. ↑ "Transport Secretary Launches £80 Million Terminal Redevelopment". London Stansted Airport. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  38. ↑ "Stansted Airport announces new £130m arrivals terminal". BBC News. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  39. ↑ stanstedairport.com - Flight Information retrieved 9 September 2016
  40. ↑ "Flights to Corsica - Air Corsica".
  41. ↑ "Charter Flight Timetables - Stansted Airport". www.stanstedairport.com.
  42. ↑ "easyJet Media Centre". mediacentre.easyjet.com.
  43. ↑ http://www.easyjet.com/en/cheap-flights/london-stansted/lyon
  44. ↑ http://www.easyjet.com/en/cheap-flights/london-stansted/tel-aviv
  45. ↑ Liu, Jim (20 December 2017). "Emirates plans London Stansted launch in June 2018". Routesonline. UBM (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  46. ↑ austrianaviation.net - "Eurowings terminates Larnaca, Nice and London-Stansted" (German) retrieved 21 August 2018
  47. ↑ "Flight Timetables - Jet2.com". www.jet2.com.
  48. ↑ 20Minutos. "La aerolínea inglesa Jet2.com operará desde el aeropuerto Lleida-Alguaire en diciembre". Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  49. ↑ "Cheap Flights - Find & Book Cheap Flights Online - Jet2.com". www.jet2.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  50. ↑ "Flying High at London Stans-Ten! - Jet2.com". www.jet2.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  51. ↑ "Laudamotion stockt Winterflugplan auf" (in German). aero.de. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  52. ↑ "London". Montenegro Airlines.
  53. ↑ "Pobeda Airlines LLC, Aeroflot Group - Flights schedule". www.pobeda.aero.
  54. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Maurice (8 November 2017). "Ryanair launches new Belfast-Malta route".
  55. 1 2 https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/fr-prod-static-pdf/Suspended+Winter+Services+2017.pdf
  56. ↑ "Ryanair adds seasonal London Stansted – Dole service in W18". routesonline. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  57. ↑ "London Stansted to Rijeka". Ryanair.
  58. ↑ https://www.thomascookairlines.com/en/generated/timetable_S2019.pdf
  59. ↑ "Flights to Calvi".
  60. 1 2 3 4 "Ski Holidays 2017/2018 - Get More Winter With Crystal Ski". Crystal Ski.
  61. ↑ "Flights to Lourdes - Tangney Tours".
  62. 1 2 "Charter Flight Timetables - Stansted Airport". www.stanstedairport.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  63. 1 2 "Flight Timetable". tui.co.uk. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  64. ↑ New direct services Widerøe (in English)
  65. ↑ "Wow Air to introduce flights from Stansted - Buying Business Travel". buyingbusinesstravel.com.
  66. 1 2 "Stansted: Freight carrier Cargolux launches Hong Kong and Luxembourg link". Eadt.co.uk. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  67. ↑ "Map - Cargolux". cargolux-italia.com.
  68. ↑ "Operational Announcements for the Air Cargo industry". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  69. ↑ "Turkish Cargo adds London Stansted service from Oct 2018". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  70. ↑ "1983 – 1997 Airport Statistics – Aviation Intelligence". United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  71. ↑ "London Stansted Airport". Airliner World (December 2016): 9. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  72. ↑ "Airport Data 2017". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 3 March 2018. Tables 12.1(XLS) and 12.2 (XLS). Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 stanstedairport.com - To & From the Airport retrieved 25 April 2017
  74. 1 2 Stansted Website on Stansted Parking Facilities Archived 19 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine., visited 19 June 2011
  75. ↑ Stansted Airport Press Release "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013. visited 21 June 2013
  76. ↑ "Stansted's hijack history". BBC News. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  77. ↑ "Typhoon jets escort Pakistani airliner to Stansted Airport". 7 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  78. ↑ "Stansted's Hijack History". BBC News. 7 February 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  79. ↑ "Hijacking Description". Aviation Safety Network. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  80. ↑ "Special report: Hijack at Stansted". BBC News. 14 February 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  81. ↑ "Afghans win right to stay in UK". BBC News. 13 July 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  82. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22658979 | Retrieved 24 May 2013
  83. ↑ "Two men arrested for 'endangering aircraft' as passenger plane is diverted to Stansted Airport". Herts and Essex Observer (Online). 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  84. ↑ Farmer, Ben (4 October 2017). "RAF fighter jets escort Ryanair plane into Stansted after 'hoax bomb threat'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2017.

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