LONDON STANSTED AIRPORT   Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  26 October 2009 by S Adders   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Staff seem overwhelmed when there are long queues at passport control. It's just a free for all. Maybe put up a line like they do at security and most US airports so you don't have to keep getting bumped from every direction for half an hour. Otherwise it's a good enough airport as UK airports go.

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  10 October 2009 by Roger Peters   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Stansted is convenient to reach, modern design, good shopping and eating. Drawbacks - try are arrive early to check in, security can be slow. Departure area can be crowded. The airport is in need of expansion.

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  21 August 2009 by A Azariah   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I arrived Stansted late Saturday evening from Ibiza. Upon arrival at the airport travellers had to go up and down two separate flights of stairs before reaching immigration. When I did reach the desk the queues were short, and more desks were opening, but I was met with an extremely rude officer. Why do they believe in making UK residents feel unwelcome back into their own country? This is one of the worst airports for this and I will be complaining (not that it will improve matters) and avoiding this airport like the plague in future!

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  12 August 2009 by R Hopkins   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

The arrival of planes at Stansted always seems to come as a surprise to its staff and operations. Do they not realise that some of those passengers they seem to dispatch reasonably well actually want to return? It's at this point I regret not driving the extra two hours to Gatwick. Yesterday evening it took 1hr.25 mins. to get from leaving the plane to leaving the car park. I now am convinced that the staff are part of the anti-expansion campaign and really want to prove that there is no capacity to enlarge this airport. Passengers arriving from Madeira yesterday were unable to board the first shuttle which was full. There were the usual ridiculously long and slow passport queues then a scramble for the car park bus after a long wait which was notionally supervised by staff, but with no apparent queue, resulting in a low-cost airline scrum. The over-full bus crawled to the car park, presumably aware it was over-loaded.

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  9 August 2009 by Victor Wong   (Malaysia)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Security a total mess, with personnel unclear of weight and number of pieces of hand luggage allowed. Personnel had to radio colleague to ask the weight limit to Kuala Lumpur. One minute it was only ONE piece of hand luggage below 10kg. Next minute, it was one piece hand luggage below 8kg, with small handbag allowed. Was sent away twice for exceeding the weight limit but with a bit of reshuffling of stuff into handbag, managed to get through on third attempt. Felt triumphant like winning some limbo rock contest trying to beat the weight/piece of item limit! No customs counter or officer to stamp tax refund form. Just drop the forms in an unsealed envelope into a hole in the wall. Apparently customs officer will collect and stamp forms without inspecting good. Not sure if my forms will get through. Such agony going through this airport!

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  9 August 2009 by J Bachert   (Germany)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Definitely an airport on the brink of it's capacity. Boarding for my flight started 7:10 a.m. at which time the terminal was completely overcrowded. Queuing at the security checks was a 30 minute experience in both directions. The terminal is clean and the toilets are in a rather good condition due to being cleaned around the clock. However the terminal building is very drafty and lacking seating possibilities. Plus, hundreds of people sleep in the terminal building every night, so having Stansted Express leave from Liverpool Street from 3-4 a.m. onwards would be appreciated by many. As I was travelling without luggage I cannot rate the baggage reclaim. The airport has many fast-food restaurants (notably Burger King and Pret) and other shops of which some are open 24/7, plus possibilities to rent cars, book bus connections and of course Stansted Express, which is the fastest means to travel to the City of London (40 mins). As most people flying from Stansted will be doing it with Ryanair, they will not have a very high demand for service and will be perfectly happy with the airport, though.

STANSTED AIRPORT review :  13 July 2009 : by D Piotrak   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Passport control is extremely slow. Yesterday I was queuing more than 1 hour and 20 minutes to get through EU/ British passport holders control - kids crying, poor ventilation, people locked in claustrophobic corridors.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 5 July 2009 by Adam Farrell

Customer Rating : 3/5

Ryanair to Ciampino recently, was pleased that they opened the security for the lounge at 03:50 which allowed a lovely breakfast airside and then a wander to the satellite for my flight. On returning the same day on the 2345 arrival, the late wave of Ryanairs means that the UK Border check is full of people, and I mean full. Most of the desks were manned and I still had to stand for an hour as more and more people joined the scrum behind us. Very unpleasant surprise and I missed the last Stansted Express as a result. Avoid a late Ryanair into Stansted as the queues are massive!

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 3 July 2009 by J van Marle

Customer Rating : 3/5

Passed through twice recently, and it's much better than my horror experiences here a few years ago (when the queues for security snaked all the way to the main doors). Arrival a breeze with the automated new chip passport readers. Beware the extra bag volume check by hawk-eyed Ryanair salespeople on quotas just before the Ryanair gates. I'd love airports to offer simple changing booths for gents so that I can change from summer wear to UK-compatible clothes or vice versa without standing in a puddle beside a toilet.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 23 June 2009 by S Blackburn

Customer Rating : 4/5

It's not the best airport in the world but not the worst either. Light and airy with a train station in the basement (and trains which run until 1:30am on a Sunday which I think is reasonable); plenty of shops airside, albeit with a shortage of seating in the main lounge area (fine near the gates); all immigration queues open at 12:30am on a Monday morning - but 20 minute queues nonetheless. The only inexcusable error was a lack of open lanes for security on departure. Stansted Express is great with the Victoria line from Tottenham taking you into central London very quickly - and at comparable prices to the other London airports. Given the number of people it handles and the nature of its main airline customers (who presumably would be happy if there was no investment in the passenger facing facilities at all), it's fine.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 6 June 2009 : by Nick Francis

Customer Rating : 5/5

Regarding several comments about transportation costs to and from Stansted, I've been using the EasyBus for a while now and really can't fault it. Book in advance online and the roundtrip from the terminal to Victoria Station or Baker Street only costs about £10. The journey takes an hour, and if you're delayed/early, the team at the desk will transfer your ticket onto the first available bus. Miles cheaper than the Stansted Express, and a much better drop-off. Strangely, easyJet don't seem to advertise the bus on their website, but you can find it on Google. Highly recommended!

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 23 April 2009 : by Nick Paul

Customer Rating : 4/5

Mid-afternoon departure with Turkish Airlines. Transited from easyJet domestic flight. Bags quickly onbelt, straight to onward check in to drop luggage. Option for buying train ticket for onward travel to central London available at bag claim if needed saving buying outside the airport. Arrivals hall busy but plenty of signs for directions of airline desks. No queues at THY check in. Bags dropped. Staff helpful and polite. Used cafe in airport for light meal - not expensive. Range of options available including bars, snack bars and shops for sandwiches / drinks. Other shops are creeping into the departure halls taking more space though. Some current work to upgrade the facilities evident, but not intrusive and the whole place operating well. No delays at security - straight through to departures - wide choice of eating and shopping. Monorail to gate (which is up escalator) for flight. Further options for drinks / snacks in gate area. Except for airline staff attitude at check-in for return flight which is not under the mandate of the airport, this was another good service from a busy airport.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 17 March 2009 : by M Jerman

Customer Rating : 5/5

I have been using STN now for 4 years and in this four years it has improved from very poor to excellent. I would prefer to use STN over LHR (apart from T5) and over LGW. Security is now a breeze, with many lanes open and never waiting time longer then 15 minutes, even in the busiest times. Both landside and airside have a good variety of retail stores, not as many as LGW or LHR but at the end of the day it is a low cost airport. Satellite 1 and 2 are connected by a train so no need for a long walk and if you are flying on FR walking times are not any longer then at LGW when leaving from furthest gates and certainly much shorter then at some other airports (AMS, CDG etc). Airport itself feels very airy, light and refreshingly new. Arrivals have been done up and now the immigration flows quickly especially if you travel on a new passport with the chip as you can use the automated barriers. It is a shame that it is mostly a low cost airport. STN deserves so much more.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 13 March 2009 : by R Pontida

Customer Rating : 3/5

Nothing especially bad or good about the airport. What I don't like with most London airports is that they're far from the city and transportation costs a lot (and I mean a lot) even when it takes an extremely long time to reach the city centre. This one is no exception. Apart from that, very "low-cost" feeling, not the best airport to wait in, but I had no problems there.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 24 December 2008 : by F Williams

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived in STN from Dublin on Ryanair. A bit of a trek to immigration, but ryanair seem to like the far flung, closer to runway gates. Joined the EU/UK queue, and after a minute or so the guy at the desk realised that an ROI flight had landed, stood up, and directed us to a door on the left, where there is no passport control, due to the common travel agreement. All in all from gate to easybus transfer, roughly 25 mins. I can't comment on check in, as I departed on the same day with online check in. Security could have been faster. Quite a long queue, with many scanners not in operation. And then the trek to the gate. All in all a good experience, bar a few little niggles. Transport into London could be a bit cheaper. Easybus cheapest at £13 return, but takes a while. Could do with a few more security staff. Other than that, airport is nice and airy, a welcome change to Dublin's cramped feeling arrivals (low ceiling), and packed departures (even at 0500).

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 11 November 2008 : by Luke Addis

Customer Rating : 3/5

I use Stansted often since for Ryanair it pretty much connects Glasgow Prestwick to the rest of Europe. I have slept in the airport twice now and each time they seems to bump the air conditioning up (In England, Mid October) so that there is a real chill about the place, also a few less armrests on their awful seats wouldn't go amiss. The number of people queuing up for 6am to 8am departures is quite staggering. You build it and they will come. Security Q's are always a bit long and staff abrupt. Airside is typical shops. This airport is clean. Flying back in at 11pm can be a bit hit or miss with runway opening times. My major gripe, and its a major one, is transport costs to and from London center. It is pure madness (though an excellent service) that a one hour plus National Express journey will cost you £10 single. This is one of the priciest airports to get to, and that is a real hindrance - surely some cheaper or more subsidised option could be introduced, easyBus tried in vain to increase competition here but in the end raised their prices to 50p less than Terravision.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 6 November 2008 : by J Bailey

Customer Rating : 2/5

Stansted is always good to arrive into and always bad to leave from. Arriving requires a little bit of a haul to the baggage area but it all works as intended and you can be out quickly. Thumbs up for that. Departure is where the well thought out Stansted plan fails badly. Too many people for the terminal to cope with. The departure area is cluttered with too many shops and check in is too close to the doors leading to jostling crowds. Very bad. Then security is almost always under-manned leading to long queues. There is no excuse for this the process here is broken and is down right annoying. Once you get through the same problem exists as outside. Crowded inadequate waiting area with far too few eating options Again Bad. So arrive at Stansted and leave from somewhere else is my advice

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 7 October 2008 : by C Mackay

Customer Rating : 3/5

I think that it has all been said before, but lets compare the recent experience at Stansted with Tenerife airport Long queues at Security at Stansted with security staff rather harassed. At Tenerife much more efficient. Took about a quarter of the time to get through. Outside Tenerife airport fleet of Taxis waiting, you just hop on, at Stansted you have to go to a desk and order one, then wait for it to turn up. Cost of food and drink at Stansted way in excess of Tenerife prices. I could go on but you have got the message. I have found the same at Malaga airport, the Spanish just seem to do it better.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 15 September 2008 : by Robert Bushby

Customer Rating : 4/5

Judging by previous comments the Stansted experience seems to boil down to timing and perhaps just luck and mine held for a 0645 flight out on a Mon and a return on Fri Sep at 1255. I was fortunate in that I had a lift to the airport so there were no parking issues and arriving at 0520 I was air- side at 0600 ready to board. Coming back I was through passport control (note though I went to the far left where queues were definitely shorter rather than just joining the ones seen straight ahead from the shuttle-train doors), reunited with my bags and starting home by 1330.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 2 August 2008 : by R Hopkins

Customer Rating : 2/5

What can be said that hasn’t already been said? There’s always a worrying wait for the car park bus, then a long journey. If you’ve not done it yet, allow 40 minutes in case you’ve just missed a bus. Exit signs out of the car-park are inadequate, even when it’s an airport you know. Outbound journey was delayed on 29.07, so there was a gate change and inevitable rush to join the new queue, not popular with ‘first come, first board’ airline passengers. The return journey was also delayed, resulting in a half hour wait on the tarmac. If the passengers knew what time the rescheduled landing was, it’s a bit worrying that Stansted didn’t and so did not have ground staff available. What if there had been an emergency? It can be no surprise to the airport authorities to find a plane has landed. Just hope it’s not two at once that are late which, given that the delays were attributed to air traffic control, seems pretty likely. Passport control is an utter insult, with a scrum to join the queues while non EU citizens get through with little delay. There are no toilets in the area, which is also a disgrace after delays. Avoid the toilets in the baggage area! The ladies’ toilet stank of urine and the cubicles are tiny, even for a fairly small adult. Once through passport control without luggage, it’s a matter of luck how long it takes to get to your car. Last night (31.7.08) it was a fairly typical one and quarter hours from landing to car, longer than it took to drive the 60 miles home. Stansted expand? It can’t cope now, so forget it.

STANSTED AIRPORT review : 28 June 2008 : by W Robinson

Customer Rating : 4/5

I was pleasantly surprised that for our journey to and from Stansted, how well everything went. I found it superior to Heathrow. Security fine, immigration fine, and airport facilities were good. My expectations weren't high, but really, there was nothing I could complain about.