London Stansted Airport Poised to ExpandLondon Stansted Airport is currently the third-busiest airport within the
United Kingdom. It only has one runway at present, but future plans include
development of an additional full-length runway within the next 50 years.
This runway will be the second located in the South East (the other to be
built within the premises of Heathrow Airport.) According to the
Government's White Paper concerning such plans, London Stansted Airport
should optimize use of its only runway in the interim.
At present, London Stansted Airport offers air transportation to more than
160 destinations within 35 countries.
Future plans for runways
With just one runway at present, London Stansted Airport is capable of
serving almost 24 million people per year. In the Generation 1 phase of the
airport's growth plans, the passenger capacity cap of 25 million will be
removed as Air Transport Movements are hiked to 264,000 per year (from the
present level of 241,000 per year.) Thus, London Stansted Airport should be
able to handle around 35 million passengers annually by years 2014 to 2015.
In Generation 2 phase of the growth plans, London Stansted Airport is
planning to build an additional full-length runway, at least by 2015.
Heathrow Airport may also build such a runway, provided it is able to meet
certain environmental conditions first.
The move to build a new runway at London Stansted Airport has met with
support from the British Chambers of Commerce. That organization believes
that this plan will help bolster the UK economy even further, amidst
increased usage by UK businesses of air travel in their operations. Other
chambers of commerce followed suit with words of support for this expansion
of London Stansted Airport.
The concerns of people who may be affected by the construction of the
second runway at London Stansted Airport will be addressed through the Home
Owner Support Scheme. Homeowners who reside within the 66-decibel average
noise contour may opt to sell their properties at prices that are
reasonable, so they can move out of the way to better locations.
Surface Access consultation
At present, London Stansted Airport is pursuing consultation regarding its
improvement of surface access to the airport, particularly through Rail
Improvement Schemes. This means installing longer trains, and more of them,
so that overall capacity will increase.
What is happening now?
London Stansted Airport is still keeping up with its services to
passengers, amidst all the hubbub about its future growth.
Hotels for travelers
If you should visit London Stansted Airport anytime soon, you will probably
require affordable lodgings near the airport, so you can easily catch a
return flight back. One hotel that offers service to airport visitors is
the Hilton London Stansted Airport, one of the nearest lodging places since
it is just 10 minutes away by shuttle bus service. A room here will run you
from 71 to 104 British pounds. Another hotel that is just minutes away is
the Express by Holiday Inn Stansted - just get a ride on the hotel transfer
bus, pay your fare, and within 5 minutes you are there. A room here is less
expensive, being in the range of 65 to 73 British pounds.
It should be hoped that, if the second runway does get built and more
people travel to London Stansted Airport, that prices of transportation and
accommodations does not go up as a result.
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