London Stansted Airport

A Legacy of Private Aviation

STN originated in July 1943 with an inaugural ceremony and was used during WWII as RAF Stansted Mountfitchet by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces as both a bomber airfield and a maintenance depot. Despite its inauguration, it had already been used by the USAAF Eight Air Force since August 1942 for its heavy bombers while also being used as an Air Technical Services Command for overhauls and modifications of B-26s. After D-Day, these operations were transferred to France, with STN as a supply storage area to support aircraft. With WWII coming to a close, the USAAF forces withdrew on August 12th, 1945, and the Air Ministry took over STN. The base was then used for storage by the No. 263 Maintenance Unit, RAF, and for housing German POWs between March 1946 and August 1947. From November 1946 until July 1948, STN was also used as a base of operations by British cargo airline London Aero and Motor Services. In 1949 the Ministry of Civil Aviation took over STN, which became a base for several charter airlines. In 1954 the US military returned and extended a runway in anticipation of NATO use of the base, but that never materialized. STN was then placed under the control of the BAA (British Airport Authority) in 1966, with the airport used by holiday charters that wanted to avoid the higher fees at London Heathrow and Gatwick. Beginning in the 1950s, there was a need for the development of a third London airport. Various options were considered, but all fell through. As such, in 1979, it was determined that STN should be further developed for this purpose. A plan to expand the airport in two phases was approved in 1985, including airfield and terminal improvements that would increase capacity to 15 million annual passengers. The terminal building was constructed between 1988 and 1991 at the cost of 100 million pounds. In addition, Stansted Airport railway station was built to provide greater connectivity as part of the terminal development. Moreover, a stained glass project, including two stained glass friezes and a 6-meter high stained glass tower for a circulation area in the center of the terminal, were erected but later removed to allow for better traffic flow. Transatlantic service to STN began in the early 1990s via American Airlines to Chicago-O’Hare; it was discontinued in 1993 as it was not profitable. Moreover, Continental Airlines operated a route to Newark in the late 1990s but was discontinued following the September 11th attacks. Other attempts at providing service to the US were undertaken by MAXjet Airways and EOS Airlines, with initial all-business class service to New York-JFK and later to Washington-Dulles, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. American Airlines also returned to STN with service to New York-JFK in October 2007. However, various conditions such as the price of jet fuel and economic realities brought about the end to these routes, as MAXjet Airways went under in December 2007, Eos Airlines followed then in April 2008, and American Airlines decided to consolidate all their London services at London Heathrow. Other attempts at long-haul service to STN were made by Sun Country Airlines to Minneapolis/St. Paul from June 2010 to August 15th, moving the service to Gatwick the following year before discontinuing it entirely. Moreover, between March 2009 and October 2011, AirAsia X established direct service to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. They, too, moved to Gatwick before discontinuing the service. In 1996 a new air traffic control tower opened, the tallest in the UK. The terminal building was expanded between 2007 and 2009, with 64,000 square feet of additional floor space added. This enabled the installation of additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall, and a new arrivals hall built in hypostyle (whereby columns support the roof). The terminal building was again redeveloped in 2013, with a new Departure Lounge (with a food court and new shops), an Escape Lounge, the relocation of the security area, and new information displays. The BAA applied for an increase in the permitted amounts of aircraft movements and for removing passenger limits in 2006. Despite many legal challenges, it was finally approved in March 2009. Moreover, that same month the Competition Commission determined that the BAA had to sell both STN and Gatwick (as they had Heathrow as well). Following some legal wrangling, the BAA announced its intention to sell the airport on August 20th, 2012. More recent developments include opening of a UK office by Antonov Airlines at STN for cargo charter flights. In August 2020, easyJet announced the closure of their base at STN, which had been in operation for more than a decade with over two dozen routes. Icelandic low-cost carrier Play began service to STN on June 24th, 2021.