Record-breaking July at Stansted Airport

Passenger numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

London Stansted has become the first major UK airport to achieve above pre-Covid passenger volumes in any given month, as more than 2.8m passengers passed through the terminal in July, equivalent to 102% of the total served in July 2019.

The start of peak summer holiday season also saw the airport experience its busiest ever July, up 13% on last year’s total, and the third busiest month in Stansted’s history.

The airport handled an average of 90,322 passengers per day during the month, up from 88,709 in 2022 and only topped by August in the two years before the pandemic.

A total of 97,000 passengers travelled through the airport on July 31, making it its busiest day of the year so far.

Dublin was ranked as the most popular destination to fly to in July followed by Istanbul in Turkey and Palma in Majorca.

The month also saw the airport celebrate the 80th anniversary of its runway, which was originally constructed during World War II as an American Air Force base, as well as the latest visit of a US President as Air Force One and Joe Biden arrived ahead of the President’s audience with His Majesty The King.

Gareth Powell, London Stansted’s Managing Director, said, “Having handled more than 2.8m passengers in July, we are proud to be the first major UK airport to report volumes in excess of what we saw in 2019, before the pandemic.