London Stones

Stansted Airport (IATA: STN, ICAO: EGSS) is an international airport serving the south-east of England. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, in the district of Uttlesford, Essex; it lies 31 miles (50 km; 27 nmi) north-east of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stansted serves over 180 destinations across Europe, Asia and North Africa. London Stansted is a base for a number of European low-cost carriers; this includes being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair, with over 150 destinations served by the airline. As of 2022, it is the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom, after Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, it ranked second in the country. Stansted's runway is also used by private companies, such as the Harrods Aviation, Titan Airways and XJet terminals, which are private ground handlers that can handle private flights, charter flights and state visits. Converted to civil use from RAF Stansted Mountfitchet in the late 1940s, Stansted was used by charter airlines. It came under British Airports Authority control in 1966. The privatised BAA sold Stansted in February 2013 to Manchester Airports Group as a result of a March 2009 ruling by the Competition Commission against BAA's monopoly position. The airport has one main passenger terminal, which opened in 1991, with three passenger satellites containing the departure gates. The terminal building was designed by Foster and Partners and is regarded as influential for airport architecture. From 1997 to 2007, Stansted had 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. Passenger totals later increased and it recorded an annual increase of 8.0% to 24.3 million in 2016; numbers have since continued to rise.