London Stansted reaches 90% of pre-Covid traffic in July
London Stansted's strong recovery from the pandemic continues with 2.5 million passengers travelling through the airport in July 2022, representing 90% of pre-Covid traffic.
The airport’s owner, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) - which also owns Manchester and East Midlands Airports – saw 5.5 million passengers travel through its terminals across the month, compared to 6.5 million in July 2019.
MAG’s goal has been to ensure that passengers can take their long-planned trips and this has meant that, since March, the Group’s three airports have served more than 17 million passengers and had among the lowest cancellation rates of any large UK airports.
Stansted’s terminal operation remained stable during July with all passengers clearing security in under 30 minutes, and 99% within 15 minutes.
A £12 million refurbishment of the airport's international departure lounge was also unveiled, adding more bars, restaurants, and retail outlets as well as additional seating for passengers.
More than 70 new security officers started in July, bringing the total number recruited since January to 300.
MAG CEO Charlie Cornish said:
“July was MAG’s busiest month since the pandemic began, with millions jetting-off for their long-awaited summer holidays, some for the first time in two years. This summer, more than 11m people will travel through our airports and, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our teams, we will ensure they get away on their travels smoothly.”
July passenger numbers for London Stansted and MAG:
| London Stansted | MAG | |
| Rolling 12-month total to July 22 | 17,963,927 | 37,801,606 |
| 12-month total % change year on year | +375.4% | +404.7% |
| Rolling 12- month total to July 21 | 3,778,473 | 7,490,410 |
| July 22 total | 2,475,606 | 5,502,450 |
| July 22 % change year on year | +258.6% | 353.6% |
| July 22 % change on July 2019 | -10.3% | -15.4% |
