London Stansted Airport

Check-in was fast, the queues at security were ok and we were processed fast but got caught out with what they deem to be a liquid (mascara) which is not a liquid elsewhere. That we had a bag of liquid medicines as well as the normal bag was shouted out loud and clear a number of times for all to hear. We hated the walk (funnel) through the shopping area to the lounge. It is designed to make you walk the longest distance possible along with numerous other passengers who have no idea where they are going. Next time we shall try to spy out any short cuts which enable us to avoid the shops. Not all passengers want to buy things at the shops (and be robbed of the VAT discount).

The so-called "improvements" have turned a beautiful, simple, relaxing airport into a nightmarish retail hell. Every departing passenger is funnelled down a narrow, winding pathway through a reeking perfumery before emerging into a chaotic overcrowded shopping mall that used to be the quiet relaxing departure lounge. It is no longer a beautiful, logical airport with some retail outlets, it is now a ghastly shopping mall with some aeroplanes. Unfortunately, this form does not allow me to score it zero out of 10, so the 1 is for the staff who must be saints to maintain a friendly face when surrounded by so many stressed travellers all day.

Horrendous queue for security, at least an hour. It was never like this before the so-called improvements. Staff are unapologetic and unfriendly, we have missed a flight due to a security member of staff who persistently ignored us and checked other bags which had been pulled off after mine even though we had expressed concern that we were going to be late. Coming back is even worse. 2 hours to get through passport control at 11.30 at night.

This airport has sunk to new lows since they left BAA. Arrived well on time for a flight but the 1000's of people at Security meant that we eventually missed our flight. Some security lines not even open and very short staffed. We then had to pay £100 per seat to Ryanair to get on next flight. We live in Essex and Stansted is close but the combination of this airport and Ryanair mean that we will travel even as far as Heathrow or Birmingham to avoid Stansted and Ryanair. A truly nasty, grubby experience.

We stayed at the Raddison Blu airport hotel to be on the safe side last night (5/8/15) and arrived at the easy jet desk at 5.am for a 710 am departure to Asturias. We needed to drop off one bag. Unfortunately there were only two customer service bays open and one girl said she was sick which made her very slow. As a consequence and despite, our diligence the line at passport and security was also extremely slow. In fact, the airport was in total chaos, children screaming, old people falling and the fit running like hell to get to their gates in time. It was sheer bedlam and quite terrifying. I have never seen anything like it anywhere in the world. We did everything as fast as we could and raced to the gate never stopping. Alas the gate had closed. We followed all the recommendations regarding arrival time and passing through security all prepared yet we missed the flight. As we cannot check bags until two hours before the flights departs there is a serious logistics problem at Stansted. A combination of the understaffed easy jet bag drop and stansted security, two hours is not long enough. So what do we do tomorrow?

It has been a while since I last used Stansted so nothing really prepared me for the chaos I experienced on my return flight. My 06.45 outward flight was uneventful, the airport was busy but flowed reasonably well. I have to say that the duty free area is excessive and takes ages to walk through which could be annoying if you are late for your flight. However on my return at midnight on the same day I was greeted by an absolutely packed passport control hall. I have a electronic UK passport, but the E-passport lanes were closed due to the excessive queues. The main queue extended out of the hall into the corridor and there must have been at least a 1,000 people waiting to get through. It took me just over an hour before I got through and I must say that I really felt for those families who had young children with them, what a terrible experience! The situation was then compounded as it took me a further 30 minutes to get out of the short-stay car park. Overall I will do all that I can to avoid using Stansted, even though it is my local airport.

Arrived at Stansted at 11.40 on 3rd August, left the shuttle train to enter passport control. Absolute chaos, was ushered to the right hand side to what looked like smaller queues but was ultimately moved as far from the funnel as possible that led to the zig zag queues which were unbelievably long, took over an hour to get through. Whilst being forced through the dangerous bottle neck our young children aged 8 and 4 were subjected to all sorts of jostling, foul language and complete disregard for their safety. I believe this type of bottle neck queuing is dangerous for children and should be addressed as a matter of urgency We finally got through to baggage area and still had to wait 15 mins extra for the bags to appear. We had similar wait of 90 mins last year for our bags. We won't be using Stansted again Inspite of its localness to us. Never had any issues like this at Gatwick.

Chaos at passport control. Shuttle bus packed, doors opened onto mayhem. Stansted staff shouting trying to herd exhausted travellers in entrance hall to passport control. The area was choked with people and signage unclear in the bustle. People moaning, complaining, sighing in disbelief at the lack of organisation. Stansted yet again unprepared for large number of late flights all arriving at same time. Not enough staff to manage the situation. Desks were closed. This area is clearly not big enough for the purpose. Airport totally overwhelmed at one o'clock in the morning.

Arrived at Stansted airport from Spain on 20th July 2015, it was a nightmare, airport staff shouting at passengers as the e-passport control was down, staff stated lots of flights arriving was the reason for the chaos. Were these flights unexpected? Have never been in an airport in any other country where the passengers are shouted at routinely as they are in passport control at Stansted. The thought of arriving back there after a holiday abroad fills us with dread.

Good experience at Stansted for a Germanwings flight to Cologne and return. Check-in very quick, security queue about 5 minutes at 6.20am. Walk though shops pleasant and will be better once building work completed. Had food in departure lounge which was priced ok. Train to satellite which was quiet with plenty of seating. Flight left on time. Return flight arrived at 4pm in the afternoon. Approx 30 minutes wait at Border control and from what we saw most of this queue was caused by travellers either having the wrong documentation or joining the e-passport queue with children under 18 then having to join the ordinary queues at the front. Baggage reclaim quick and then got an aiport taxi within 2 mins. Good overall experience which will I suspect improve when the existing improvements are finished