London Stansted celebrates 25th anniversary of HM The Queen officially opening the terminal building and ‘new’ airport

• 9,132 days since the terminal opened

• Over 350 million passengers since March 1991

• More than 3.2 million flights to and from airport

• Busiest single terminal airport in UK serving 23 million passengers a year

Stansted Airport is today celebrating the 25th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen officially opening the iconic terminal building and London’s third major airport on 15 March, 1991.

Stansted originally began life as a World War II USAAF base but was transformed by the development of a new £400 million terminal and world class airfield infrastructure in 1991.

Since the first flight departed to Glasgow four days later, over 350 million passengers have passed through the Lord Foster designed building on over 3.2 million flights.

In the last 25 years, the terminal has been extended twice, including a £50m extension to the arrivals area that opened in 2008, and following MAG’s acquisition in 2013, the terminal has undergone an £80 million transformation along with an £11m upgrade to the Satellite One departures area.

Today, the airport serves over 170 destinations and 23 million passengers a year compared to less than 50 routes and 1.1 million passengers when it opened in 1991, is now firmly established in the top 25 busiest European airports and is the busiest single terminal airport anywhere in the UK.

Stansted has also grown to become the largest single employment site in the eastern region with over 11,600 people working at the airport. In addition, of MAG’s current 1400 employees, over 100 staff have worked at the airport for the full 25 years of the terminal’s life, a feat repeated by many more staff employed at the other 200 on-airport companies.

Andrew Harrison, Stansted’s Managing Director, said:

“The modern Stansted we see today has made an immense contribution in helping transform the aviation landscape in the UK and Europe through access to affordable and convenient air travel.

“Stansted has always been recognised for its world class airport infrastructure and iconic terminal design, but it’s the significant role as a major London airport competing for passengers and attracting new airlines during a period when the sector has dramatically changed and evolved that really marks out what Stansted has delivered over the past 25 years.
 
“Stansted is now firmly established as a leading European airport, a true international gateway and home to some of the world’s most successful airlines, such as Ryanair and easyJet.

“Building on these excellent foundations, we have recently completed an £80 million investment project to reinvigorate and update the terminal, and following MAG’s acquisition we have added over five million passengers in three years to once again make Stansted one of the UK’s fastest growing airports.

“It’s great to look back and acknowledge past achievements and the progress we have made but with passenger numbers growing rapidly and Stansted already the busiest single terminal airport in the UK, we are now focusing on what developments and investments we need in the future to keep pace with demand, a future that promises to be just as exciting and as fast moving as the past 25 years.”

Also providing comment on the 25th anniversary:

Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, said:

“Whilst an international airport is not universally seen as the most comfortable of neighbours, it would be churlish not to offer congratulations to everyone involved as Stansted marks its 25th year in the iconic terminal. Under the management of Manchester Airports Group, Stansted has become more user friendly and more community friendly. I commend its initiative in the field of education and training through its Aerozone education centre. I welcome the support given towards improving rail services. It is the biggest employer in the constituency by far and the increasing number of flight options it offers is gaining wider appreciation.”

Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs said:

“As the largest airline at London Stansted, Ryanair is pleased to help mark the 25th birthday of its terminal building. Ryanair has carried over 212 million customers to and from London Stansted Airport and as the home of our largest base, we are continuing to grow traffic, routes and jobs. We’ve recently added new routes to Hamburg, Jerez, Sofia, Timisoara and Toulouse, offering 130 routes in total, which will help deliver 20 million customers through London Stansted this year, supporting 15,000 “on-site” jobs.

“To celebrate 25 years, we are releasing 25,000 seats for just £9.99 across 15 routes, including Cologne, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Oslo, for travel in April, which are available for booking until Thursday (17 Mar). Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto Ryanair.com and avoid missing out.”

Neil Slaven, Commercial Manager, easyJet, commented:

“We are delighted to mark this milestone with London Stansted Airport. easyJet has been flying to and from the airport for seventeen years and it remains a key part of our London strategy enabling people from across the region to fly from their local airport to a range of domestic and international destinations throughout Europe.” 

Dr Stephen King, Director, London Stansted Cambridge Corridor, said:

“Stansted has changed the face of aviation and our region for the better over the last 25 years. Not only has the airport been a key catalyst for economic growth and jobs, it has helped to connect thousands of businesses along the London-Stansted-Cambridge innovation corridor with the global marketplace and secured vital inward investment opportunities into the likes of Harlow, Cambridge and East Hertfordshire.”

To mark the Anniversary, a celebratory cake cutting ceremony took take place in the terminal building earlier today for MAG staff who have been at the airport for 25 years or more plus launch of a staff ‘memories’

Airport staff talk about their most memorable moments from the past 25 years  read more...

View more photographs of the grand opening by the Queen can be viewed by clicking here.