London Stansted records busiest ever July as security now takes under 15 minutes

London Stansted Airport has recorded its busiest ever July as travel demand booms in the peak summer months.

Some 2.9m passengers passed through the hub’s terminal over the period, an increase of 3.4 per cent year-on-year.

The figure marks the third busiest month in Stansted’s history and came after a record 53,000 passengers used the airport on 26 July, the first Friday of the school summer holidays.

“I’m really pleased our teams right across the airport have worked incredible hard to provide the best possible service, and deliver a smooth and easy journey through the terminal for our passengers as we know this is really important to them to have as stress-free experience as possible,” Anita Harrison, customer operations director, said.

She added that 99 per cent of departing passengers had gone through security in less than 15 minutes, with queue times at an average of four and a half minutes during peak times.

“As the holiday season continues, we know there will be no let-up in the strong demand we have already seen this summer as even more passengers choose to fly from the airport, so we will continue doing all we can to make sure we deliver the best experience possible for every passenger flying from London Stansted.”

Recent figures from UK airports will quell fears in the sector of a drop-off in demand, following a two-year post-Covid boom in passenger numbers.

The UK’s largest airport Heathrow also reported a record July on Monday, buoyed by a surge in transatlantic trips.

Stansted’s 12 month passenger total now sits at 29.1m, an increase of 8.5 per cent on the prior year.

The north-east London hub, a market leader for short-haul European travel, currently ranks in the top 20 busiest in Europe, serving 200 destinations in around 40 countries.

Monthly passenger numbers have repeatedly broken records over the last year, contributing to a record annual total in its most recent report.