Demand for flights to UAE and Europe drives Stansted passengers numbers

The number of passengers using Stansted airport surpassed 28m in the year up to March, thanks to increased demand for flights to the UAE and Europe.

Over 2m passengers used the London airport this March alone, which is a six per cent increase on the same month last year.

The airport said it had seen heightened demand for flights to the UAE, Italy, Portugal and Spain as well as routes to Barcelona, Vienna, Madrid and Milan.

Stansted chief executive Ken O'Toole said: “This was another busy month for London Stansted with over two million passengers passing through our doors, the first time we’ve ever topped two million passengers in March, and rounds-off a strong performance across the full winter season.

“We are now focusing on our preparations and plans for the new summer flying schedule and ensuring we are ready to deliver the best possible airport experience."

Meanwhile, rival airport Gatwick has added ten new routes. They are: Asturias, Spain; Chisinau, Moldova; Cluj Napoca, Romania; Gdansk, Poland; Lametia – Terme, Italy; Miami, USA; Rijeka, Croatia; Rio, Brazil; San Francisco; US and Zadar, Croatia.

The new routes will take off during the summer.

This Easter, the airport expects that half a million passengers will use the airport, up five per cent on 2018.