Stansted notches busiest ever July as airport booms

The monthly passenger total increased 3.4 per cent year-on-year and was the third busiest month in Stansted’s history.

July also saw the airport record its busiest ever departure day as nearly 53,000 passengers took to the skies on the 26th – the first Friday of the school holiday.

The top destinations in the month were Dublin, Istanbul and Palma de Mallorca with the most popular countries being Spain, Italy and Turkey.

The 12-month total to the end of July stood at 29.12 million passengers, an increase of 8.5 per cent on the previous year.

Operational performance in July remained good with 99 per cent of departing passengers passing through security in 15 minutes or less, with an average queue time of less than four minutes 30 seconds during the main departure peaks.

The airport’s services to passengers with reduced mobility and disabilities has just been rated “very good” by the Civil Aviation Authority – the highest award possible – for the second consecutive year.

The month also saw the launch of the airport’s latest Little Book of Travel Tales, which was created as part of a World Book Day competition. Children from schools neighbouring the airport shared their stories with themes including flights, aircraft, holidays and working at the airport.

The book is being handed out by airport colleagues in the terminal to entertain young travellers across the summer holiday.

Anita Harrison, London Stansted’s Customer Operations Director, said: “The start of the main summer holiday getaway is always a very busy time at the airport and this year we’ve been busier than ever as we welcomed a record-breaking number of passengers to London Stansted.

“Our teams right across the airport have worked incredibly hard to provide the best possible service and deliver a smooth and easy journey through the terminal for our passengers as we know it is really important to them to have an experience that is as stress-free as possible.”