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
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 (2016)
Passengers 24,320,071
Passenger change 15-16 Increase8.0%
Aircraft movements 180,430
Movements change 15-16 Increase7.0%
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 local government district of Uttlesford in Essex, 30 mi (48 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, Central and North America and 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 and XJet terminals which are private ground handlers who are able to handle private flights, charter flights and state visits.

The airport is owned and operated by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which also owns and operates three 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was completed for £1.5 billion on 28 February 2013.[5] BAA had been required to sell the airport following a ruling originally made by the Competition Commission in March 2009. In 2016 Stansted handled a record 24.3 million passengers.

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 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 have since risen, and in 2016 recorded an annual increase of 8.0% to 24.3 million, a record calendar year total.[2]

History

Second World War

Where Stansted Airport is now, as about 1935
Unidentified B-26 Marauder of the 344th Bomb Group at Stansted, 1944.

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]

Avro York of the based Air Charter Ltd taking off on a trooping flight in 1955 with wartime hangars in the background

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

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.

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 March 1991,[9] costing £100 million.[10] In 1990 it was awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award.

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Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and Chicago, however the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.[11] Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark, but this service was stopped shortly after the 11 September 2001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

Long-haul services to the USA 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, all three services to the USA 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

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

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.

Stansted also had scheduled and charter flights to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but these flights to Canada have now ceased. Long-haul services to Asia commenced in March 2009 with Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia X providing direct flights to Kuala Lumpur; however, since 24 October 2011, these flights have operated from Gatwick Airport instead.

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.[12]

The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.[13] The ruling was quashed within a year following an appeal but was subsequently upheld.[14] The Competition Commission reconfirmed its ruling in July 2011 that the airport be sold,[15] and the Court of Appeal turned down an appeal by BAA on 26 July 2012.[16] 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.[17]

In 2017 Antonov Airlines opened a UK office at Stansted for cargo charter flights, generally of outsize loads.[18]

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 never 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.[19] 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 numbered gates 90-95) was in regular passenger use.

Satellite Building Gate Numbers Passenger Access Notes
Satellite 1 1-19 Transit system Used by all airlines except Ryanair. Furthest in distance from main terminal but first stop on transit when departing main terminal
Satellite 2 20-39 Transit system Used exclusively by Ryanair. Closest in distance from main terminal but second stop on transit when departing main terminal
81-88 Walkway from main terminal building Domestic arrivals mixed with domestic and international departures; special exit route for domestic arrivals
Satellite 3 40-59 Walkway from main terminal building Used exclusively by Ryanair; this building is not equipped with jet bridges
APV 90-93 Walkway from main terminal building Used only by Ryanair; acts as a terminal for buses to remote stands.

Domestic arrivals use a separate exit route, located at the far left, when facing the main entrance. This exit is connected solely by footbridge to Satellite 2. 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.[20] 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 the Hilton, Premier Inn and Radisson Blu hotels, the last of which is 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 amongst the tallest in Britain and was the tallest at the time of its construction.[21] It is located at the north-east of the airfield just to the south of the terminal building. It has 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.[22] 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.[23][24] When Buzz existed, its head office was in the Endeavour House.[25] When AB Airlines existed, its head office was in the Enterprise House.[26] For a period Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House at Stansted.[27] When Go Fly existed its head office was at the Enterprise House.[28]

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.[29]

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.[30]

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.[30]

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.[31]

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,[32] 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.[33]

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 Escape Lounge. However, many travellers have voiced concerns and complaints about the new layout because passengers are guided through a shopping walkway, and seating has been reduced in the main departure lounge.[34] Satellite One has also been redeveloped with the aim to attract more long haul airlines to Stansted.[35]

New Arrivals Terminal

An arrivals terminal is due to be built at London Stansted Airport, with construction beginning in 2018, taking 3 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 also be reconfigured to departures only, with security 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.[36]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Stansted:[37]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Moldova Chișinău
Arkia
operated by Travel Service 		Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
AtlasGlobal Istanbul–Atatürk
Aurigny Guernsey
Austrian Airlines Seasonal charter: Innsbruck[38]
BH Air Seasonal: Burgas
BMI Regional Derry (PSO)[39]
British Airways
operated by BA CityFlyer 		Berlin–Tegel, Faro, Málaga, Milan-Linate
Seasonal: Chambéry, Florence, Geneva, Ibiza, Nice, Palma de Mallorca
Cobalt Air Larnaca
easyJet Amsterdam, Asturias, Belfast–International, Bilbao, Cagliari, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ljubljana, Málaga, Munich, Naples, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Prague
Seasonal: Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Grenoble, Ibiza, Menorca, Reykjavik-Keflavík, Sofia, Split, Zakynthos
Eurowings
operated by Air Berlin 		Cologne/Bonn, Munich, Stuttgart, Vienna
Eurowings
operated by Eurowings Europe 		Salzburg (begins 29 October 2017), Vienna
Eurowings
operated by Germanwings 		Cologne/Bonn, Hannover, Stuttgart
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya, İzmir
Flybe Seasonal: Newquay
Flybe
operated by Loganair 		Dundee (PSO)[39] (ends 31 August 2017)[40]
Jet2.com Alicante, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Málaga, Paphos, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Almería (begins 10 May 2018), Antalya, Bodrum (begins 3 May 2018), Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Geneva (begins 22 December 2017), Girona, Grenoble (begins 16 December 2017), Heraklion, Ibiza, Kefalonia (begins 5 May 2018), Kos, Larnaca, Lyon (begins 23 December 2017),[41] Malta (begins 31 March 2018), Menorca, Naples (begins 29 March 2018), Nice (begins 4 May 2018), Palma de Mallorca, Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg (begins 30 November 2017), Split, Thessaloniki (begins 5 May 2018), Verona (begins 9 May 2018), Zakynthos
Loganair Dundee (PSO)[39] (begins 1 September 2017)[40]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, İzmir
Seasonal: Bodrum
Primera Air Boston (begins 18 May 2018),[42] Newark (begins 19 April 2018)[42]
Ryanair Aalborg (begins 5 September 2017), Aarhus, Agadir, Alicante, Ancona, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Basel/Mulhouse, 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, Eindhoven, Faro, Fez, Frankfurt (begins 5 September 2017), Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Genoa, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Grenoble, Hahn, Hamburg, Jerez de la Frontera, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Katowice, Kaunas, Kerry, Knock, Kraków,La Rochelle, Lamezia Terme, Lanzarote, Leipzig/Halle, Limoges, Linz, Lisbon, Lourdes, Lublin, Łódź, Luxembourg,Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Marrakesh, Marseille, Memmingen, Milan–Malpensa, Murcia, Naples, Nice, Nuremberg, Olsztyn, Oradea (begins 6 September 2017), Oslo-Gardermoen, Ostrava, Palanga, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Pardubice (begins 5 September 2017), 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, Timișoara, Toulouse, Tours, Treviso, Trieste, Turin, Valencia, Verona, Vilnius, Warsaw-Modlin, Weeze (resumes 1 September 2017), Wrocław, Zaragoza
Seasonal: Alghero, Almería, Béziers, Brive, Chania, Clermont-Ferrand, Comiso, Corfu, Deauville, Girona, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Lorient, Nîmes, Perpignan, Pula, Rhodes, Rijeka, Zadar
Thomas Cook Airlines Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Alicante, Almería (ends 6 September 2017), Antalya, Cancún, Corfu, Dalaman, Gran Canaria, Ibiza (ends 28 October 2017), Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Las Vegas, Menorca, Orlando, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Rhodes, Skiathos, Zakynthos
Thomson Airways Cancún (ends 25 October 2017),[43] Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Antalya, Burgas (begins 24 May 2018), Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Geneva, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Menorca, Montego Bay (ends 26 October 2017),[43] Orlando–Sanford (ends 30 August 2017),[43] Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rhodes, Salzburg, Turin, Zakynthos
Titan Airways Seasonal charter: Calvi,[44] Chambéry,[45] Tarbes/Lourdes,[46] Zadar[47][48]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Asiana Cargo Milan–Malpensa, Moscow–Domodedovo, Seoul–Incheon
ASL Airlines Belgium Liège
Astral Aviation Nairobi
Cargolux Hong Kong,[49] Luxembourg,[49] Milan–Malpensa
China Southern Cargo Guangzhou,[50] Frankfurt
Etihad Cargo Amsterdam, Nairobi
FedEx Express Cologne/Bonn, Dublin, Indianapolis, Memphis, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
FedEx Feeder
operated by ASL Airlines Ireland 		Amsterdam, Glasgow, Manchester
FedEx Feeder
operated by Swiftair 		Glasgow
Martinair Amsterdam, Bogotá
Panalpina Huntsville, Luxembourg, Guadalajara
Qatar Airways Cargo Doha
Royal Mail
operated by Titan Airways 		Belfast-International, Edinburgh, Exeter
Royal Mail
operated by West Atlantic 		Edinburgh, Guernsey, Jersey, Newcastle upon Tyne
Turkish Airlines Cargo Amsterdam, Istanbul–Atatürk
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.[51] 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.[52]

Traffic figures

London Stansted Airport Passenger Totals 2000–2016 (millions) [2]
Updated: 14 March 2017.
Number of Passengers[nb 1] Percentage Change Number of Movements[nb 2] Freight (tonnes)
2000 11,878,190 – 165,779 167,823
2001 13,665,333 Increase15.0% 169,583 165,660
2002 16,054,522 Increase17.5% 170,544 184,449
2003 18,722,112 Increase16.6% 186,475 198,565
2004 20,910,842 Increase11.7% 192,245 225,772
2005 21,998,673 Increase5.2% 193,511 237,045
2006 23,687,013 Increase7.7% 206,693 224,312
2007 23,779,697 Increase0.4% 208,462 203,747
2008 22,360,364 Decrease6.0% 193,282 197,738
2009 19,957,077 Decrease10.7% 167,817 182,810
2010 18,573,592 Decrease6.9% 155,140 202,238
2011 18,052,843 Decrease2.8% 148,317 202,593
2012 17,472,699 Decrease3.2% 143,511 214,160
2013 17,852,393 Increase2.2% 146,324 211,952
2014 19,941,593 Increase11.7% 157,117 204,725
2015 22,519,178 Increase12.9% 168,629 207,996
2016 24,320,071 Increase8.0% 180,430 223,203
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 (2016)[53]
Rank Airport Total
passengers 		Change
2015 / 16
1 Dublin 914,920 Increase 4.0%
2 Edinburgh 836,860Increase 34.5%
3 Glasgow 652,434Increase 22.3%
4 Rome–Ciampino 601,009Increase 16.6%
5 Barcelona 508,076Increase 3.7%
6 Madrid 499,574Increase 10.1%
7 Bergamo 489,080Decrease 1.2%
8 Berlin–Schonefeld 456,246Increase 37.6%
9 Cologne 451,630Increase 15.9%
10 Warsaw–Modlin 432,509Increase 16.3%
11 Málaga 398,718Increase 11.7%
12 Lisbon 379,420Increase 2.7%
13 Palma de Mallorca 371,741Increase 16.0%
14 Budapest 369,838Increase 0.3%
15 Belfast–International 363,943Increase 12.4%
16 Kraków 352,119Increase 14.6%
17 Prague 351,882Increase 5.5%
18 Pisa 339,408Increase 1.9%
19 Cork 339,382Increase 6.0%
20 Treviso 338,451Increase 27.1%
21 Amsterdam 325,248Increase 8.2%
22 Porto 302,333Increase 14.0%
23 Eindhoven 277,807Increase 14.6%
24 Gothenburg--Landvetter 271,384Increase 12.0%
25 Faro 263,138Increase 43.8%

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.[54]

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.[54]

CrossCountry operates services from the airport to Birmingham New Street, via Cambridge, Peterborough and Leicester, which run every 60 minutes. Abellio Greater Anglia operates local stopping services to Cambridge.[54]

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.[54]

A few local bus services operate to the nearby communities of Bishops Stortford and Stansted Mountfitchet, most notably the 510/509/508 (Harlow to Stansted via Stansted Mountfitchet, Parsonage Lane and Takeley respectively), 308 (Bishops Stortford to Stansted) and the 700 Express (Stevenage to Stansted). 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.[54]

Stansted is also the start of coach X30 service to Southend-on-Sea via Chelmsford and London Southend Airport, oprated by First Essex, this route runs hourly 24 hours a day.[54]

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).[54]

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.[55] The airport also offers mid stay parking, closer to the terminal than its long stay spaces.[55] 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[56]

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. [57] 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.

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. ↑ "Runway protest strands passengers". BBC News. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  13. ↑ "BAA could challenge airport sale". BBC News. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "BAA sell-off back on track after court ruling". BBC News. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "BAA loses final Competition Commission sell-off ruling". BBC News. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "BAA loses latest appeal against Stansted sale". BBC News. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "Stansted Airport to be sold by BAA". BBC News. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "UK office handles Antonov Airlines charter". aircargonews. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Airport Management Report" (PDF). Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "Pick Up and Drop Off". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Stansted Airport Control Tower – MDA Consulting". Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  22. ↑ "Contact Us." Titan Airways. Retrieved 16 December 2011. "Titan Airways Ltd Enterprise House Stansted Airport Essex CM24 1RN"
  23. ↑ "Home-page." [sic] AirUK. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  24. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 18–24 March 1998. 82.
  25. ↑ "Contact Us." Buzz. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  26. ↑ "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"
  27. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 10 April 1969. 580. "Head Office: Lloyd House, First Avenue, Stansted Airport, Essex."
  28. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 27 March – 2 April 2001. 77. "Enterprise House, 2nd Floor, Stansted Airport, Stansted, Essex, CM241SB, UK"
  29. ↑ "£2.5bn Stansted Generation 2 planning bid submitted". Transport Briefing. 12 March 2008.
  30. 1 2 BBC News: Heathrow and Stansted runway plans scrapped by BAA, 24 May 2010. Visited 20 June 2011
  31. ↑ [ARCHIVED CONTENT] The Future of Air Transport – White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill. Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  32. ↑ Airports Commission. GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  33. ↑ 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.
  34. ↑ http://www.airlinequality.com/airport-reviews/london-stansted-airport/
  35. ↑ "Transport Secretary Launches £80 Million Terminal Redevelopment". London Stansted Airport. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  36. ↑ "Stansted Airport announces new £130m arrivals terminal". BBC News. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  37. ↑ stanstedairport.com - Flight Information retrieved 9 September 2016
  38. ↑ "Catered Ski Chalets - Ski Chalet Holiday - SkiTotal.com".
  39. 1 2 3 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/modes/air/internal_market/doc/pso_inventory_table.pdf
  40. 1 2 "Press Office :: Scotland's Airline spreads its wings - Loganair".
  41. ↑ "Cheap Flights - Find & Book Cheap Flights Online - Jet2.com". www.jet2.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  42. 1 2 "Primera Air set to launch direct US flights from London Stansted". Breaking Travel News. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  43. 1 2 3 "Flights Timetable - Thomson Airways". www.thomson.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  44. ↑ "Flights to Calvi".
  45. ↑ "Catered Ski Chalets - Ski Chalet Holiday - SkiTotal.com".
  46. ↑ "Flights to Lourdes - Tangney Tours".
  47. ↑ Kotek, Jan. "Titan Airways dolazi u Zadar".
  48. ↑ "Activity Holidays - Ski, Beach and Sailing Holidays - Neilson".
  49. 1 2 "Stansted: Freight carrier Cargolux launches Hong Kong and Luxembourg link". Eadt.co.uk. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  50. ↑ UBM Aviation,OAG Cargo. "Welcome to Inforwarding – Operational Announcements for the Air Cargo industry". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  51. ↑ "1983 – 1997 Airport Statistics – Aviation Intelligence". United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  52. ↑ "London Stansted Airport". Airliner World (December 2016): 9.
  53. ↑ "Airport Data 2016". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 3 March 2017. Tables 12.1(XLS) and 12.2 (XLS). Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 stanstedairport.com - To & From the Airport retrieved 25 April 2017
  55. 1 2 Stansted Website on Stansted Parking Facilities, visited 19 June 2011
  56. ↑ Stansted Airport Press Release visited 21 June 2013
  57. ↑ "BBC News - UK - Stansted's hijack history". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  58. ↑ "Stansted's Hijack History". BBC News. 7 February 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  59. ↑ "Hijacking Description". Aviation Safety Network. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  60. ↑ "Special report: Hijack at Stansted". BBC News. 14 February 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  61. ↑ "Afghans win right to stay in UK". BBC News. 13 July 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  62. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22658979 | Retrieved 24 May 2013
  63. ↑ "Two men arrested for 'endangering aircraft' as passenger plane is diverted to Stansted Airport". Herts and Essex Observer (Online). 22 September 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.

Bibliography

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