As major airports move through a recovery phase and grapple with the aggressive resurgence of air travel demand, London Stansted airport has posted impressive growth figures.
Monthly and yearly growth
February 2023
On the monthly timeframe, London Stansted welcomed more than 1.7 million passengers in February 2023.
This figure was comparatively up 49% on the same month last year, when Covid-19 testing requirements began to ease for travellers.
The monthly total was equivalent to 92% of the passengers passing through the airport in February 2019, prior to the impacts of the pandemic.
Year to date
On a broader timescale, the number of passengers using London Stansted in the 12-months ending February 2023 totalled 25 million. This represents a massive shift of 183% up on the previous year.
Stansted has connections to more European destinations that any other UK airport, and this was reflected in the most popular places flown to during the month.
The top five destinations in February were:
1. Dublin
2. Istanbul
3. Rome
4. Edinburgh
5. Bergamo (Milan)
London Stansted highlights
Meanwhile, Emirates’ service to Dubai, which will operate twice a day from 1st May, continues to be very popular.
The Dubai service has seen thousands of people flying to the Middle East hub during February; either to visit the UAE or to access the airline’s wider global network of 150 onward destinations.
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In addition, London Stansted marked the 10th anniversary of the airport’s acquisition by MAG during the month of February.
This period has seen more than 200 million passengers travelled through Stansted on 1.3 million flights served by 85 airlines to 299 destinations in 52 countries.
Speaking on the stellar achievements of the airport, Nick Millar, London Stansted’s Operations Director, said:
“February was another strong month for passenger growth at London Stansted as we welcomed more than 1.7 million passengers to the airport.”
“As a result, we have now served more than 25 million passengers in the last year, a clear indication of the airport’s excellent bounce-back following the easing of travel restrictions 12 months ago.
“It was also another good month operationally, especially during the busy half-term period, with 99% of departing passengers passing through security in 15 minutes or less.”
“Our airport-wide recruitment campaign continues to go well, while operational preparations are well underway as we look ahead to the next busy period at Easter.”
“We are also very pleased we will see more Stansted Express trains running in the peaks from May, but we continue to make the case for the urgent return of the full service to support increased demand from passengers, staff and local commuters.”
About London Stansted
London Stansted Airport is one of the five main airports serving London and is located in the county of Essex, approximately 35 miles northeast of Central London.
It is the fourth busiest airport in the UK, and a main UK hub into Europe. In terms of airlines, the airport is a hub for several low-cost carriers, including Ryanair and easyJet, as well as serving a number of other airlines such as British Airways, Emirates, and Jet2.com.
