- Airport history
- How to get from the airport to the city
- Airport infrastructure
- Parking lots and hotels
- Additional services
Stansted is a large international airport located about 50 km northeast of the capital of Great Britain. It got its name in honor of the village of Stansted Mountfitchet. The nearest town, Bishops Stortford, is just 3 km away. Stansted Airport serves mainly low-cost airlines such as Ryanair or easyJet. It is the fourth largest airport in the UK and the third largest airport serving London by passenger traffic. It is surpassed in size by two London airports - Heathrow and Gatwick.
Stansted Airport has one runway with a length of 3,048 meters. Further explosive development of this air gateway to London is planned: it is expected that a second runway will soon be built, which will increase the passenger traffic to 80 million people a year. These plans are causing public outrage for social and environmental reasons. Currently, airport traffic is limited to 25 million passengers per year.
Airport history
Stansted was built by the US Army in 1942 as a military base. In 1944, there were 600 bombers at the same time. The base was the stronghold of the Americans during the Battle of Normandy.
After World War II, the airport was transferred to the UK Department of Transport. In 1954, the airport was planned to be given under the jurisdiction of NATO, for which it was required to extend the existing runway, but these plans were not implemented. Stansted began to be used for receiving passengers. It was immediately reoriented to serving charter flights in order to relieve some of the congestion at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The first terminal was opened in 1969. 22 years later, a new modern building was erected in its place.
For three decades, part of the airport was used to train fire brigades, who had to respond quickly when objects in the UK airports were set on fire.
How to get from the airport to the city
From Stansted Airport by public transport you can reach several cities: Oxford, Cambridge, Ipswich, Birmingham and others. Most tourists arriving at the airport go to London. You can get to London as follows:
- by train. The Stansted Express takes passengers from the airport to Liverpool Street station in just 45 minutes. Trains run 2-4 times per hour;
- by bus. There are many bus routes, especially the most popular Airbus A6, which runs from the airport to Victoria Coach Station. Buses cover the distance between Stansted and London in about an hour and a half;
- by taxi. The most expensive form of transport.
Airport infrastructure
Stansted is the "youngest" passenger airport among all major London airports. The airport complex includes:
- main passenger terminal. It is an elongated glass building with a fancy roof that looks like a flying swan from the side. All communications are hidden in the curves of the roof. The terminal is divided into three areas: the lobby and check-in counters, the departure area at the back of the building and the arrivals area to the left of the entrance;
- three satellite buildings where the gates to the runway are located. One building is used only by Ryanair;
- several cargo buildings and hangars, as the airport also receives cargo planes;
- traffic control tower.
Stansted airport scoreboard
Scoreboard at Stansted Airport (London), flight statuses from the Yandex. Schedule service.
Parking lots and hotels
For the convenience of passengers, Stansted Airport has several car parks - long-term, medium-term and short-term. You can park your car for free in the mid-term parking lot. Long term parking is located 2 km from the airport. You don't have to walk this distance on foot, because a free bus takes passengers to the main terminal. Short-term parking can be found near the check-in hall.
Since 2004, Stansted Airport has offered its passengers a wide range of hotels to stay while awaiting their flight. These are Holiday Inn Express, Premier Inn and Radisson Blu, as well as the recently opened Hampton by Hilton. The underground passage to the last two hotels takes only 2 minutes.
Additional services
The airport management suggests spending a few hours while waiting for your flight in a special Escape Lounge, where you need to reserve and pay in advance. This is a space filled with tables where you can have a delicious lunch, read a newspaper, a book or watch TV. For guests of the Escape Lounge, there is a buffet with a wide selection of hot and cold dishes. You don't need to pay extra for them.
There are many shops in the duty-free sector. Some of them have developed unique offers. For example, passengers traveling on vacation who do not want to carry goods purchased at the airport with them can leave them in the store until they return and take them home upon arrival. Stores do not charge money for storing purchases.
Dixons Travel and World Duty Free outlets allow you to reserve goods in advance via the Internet. For the passenger, his order is collected, he pays for it at the airport and has free time for a snack or rest before the flight.
