London’s Stansted airport announces plans to expand terminal building

London’s third largest airport has announced plans to expand its existing terminal building.

Stansted airport, which served 26 million passengers in the last 12 months, has submitted a planning application to upgrade its main terminal.

The proposed scheme, which if approved will see a three-bay extension to the back of the terminal building, is designed to transform the airport experience.

It hopes to provide a more spacious departure lounge for passengers, including new shops, bars and restaurants, state-of-the-art check-in equipment, increased baggage system capacity and an enlarged security hall with additional space for more security lanes fitted with next-generation scanners.

The renovations are also aiming to improve airport capacity at busy times and cater for more passengers in the years ahead.

Stansted is expected to pass pre-pandemic passenger levels during the coming year and is set for its busiest summer season on record.

Gareth Powell, London Stansted’s Managing Director, said: “Our plan to invest in new facilities is great news for our customers, partners, and the region because it will provide additional terminal capacity and a better passenger experience for everyone travelling through London Stansted Airport.

"The investment we plan to make will enhance facilities for all our airlines, from short-haul low-cost to long-haul full-service carriers, enabling us to continue playing an essential role serving passengers across London and the East of England and offering the best possible choice of destinations during this next phase of our development.

“The terminal extension is an important part of our plans for making best use of Stansted’s existing capacity, which will also deliver 5,000 new jobs and see the airport’s economic contribution double to £2 billion annually, so this really is an exciting prospect for our passengers, airlines, colleagues and the economic success of the region we serve.”