Stansted Airport Chamber of Commerce

150 transport leaders from across the region gathered at Stansted today to celebrate the airport's 'year of achievement' at the annual Transport Forum.

Patricia Yates - Policy and Strategy Director Visit Britain, John Pope - Head of Passenger Transport Essex County Council, Stewart Wingate - BAA Stansted's Managing Director, Giles Long MBE - Paralympic Gold medal winner at Friday's Transport Forum

The Forum also witnessed the unveiling of the airport's Surface Access Strategy - Leading the Way Forward - which sets out the vision for growth to 2015.

Stewart Wingate, Stansted Airport's managing director, said:

"We can all take pride in a year of achievement at Stansted - a testament to the work of the Forum, and to those in the BAA team who are engaged in serving our passengers on a day-to-day basis.

"And pride too in achieving recognition for what we have done. First in winning the International Award for Outstanding Mobility Management at the International Transport Forum held in Germany; and second, our nomination for Partnership of the Year at the National Transport Awards held in London.

"We also stayed in top position among major UK airports in achieving 44% of air travellers using trains, coaches and buses for their journeys to and from Stansted.

"And our commitment to invest in facilities and services was boosted even further with the opening of our new £50m Terminal extension and the £2m new bus and coach station."

Also speaking at the forum was John Pope, head of passenger transport for Essex County Council, who said:

"The strategy 'Leading the way Forward' builds upon the great successes that have been achieved by working in partnership with BAA and other stakeholders to improve passengers' whole journey experience.

"One of the reasons for this success has been the work of the Stansted Area Transport Forum. Made up of both public and private organisations, this forum allows for a partnership approach to transport issues and gives the airport a platform to deliver plans to improve public transport use."

Patricia Yates ,Visit Britain's policy and strategy director, added:

"Aviation is critical to the success of tourism in the UK - it accounts for four out of five trips by overseas visitors,. And Stansted already plays a key role as the second most important gateway for inbound tourism in the UK.

"We expect there to be long-term growth in the tourism sector, but it's an increasingly competitive industry. To maintain and build our market share, we need to provide the necessary airport infrastructure to ensure the UK remains accessible and ready to compete for business in the years ahead."