London Stansted Airport

London Stansted Airport Poised to Expand

London 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.