London Stansted Airport

What an improvement MAG have and are still making to this airport since they took over from BAA in February 2013. The Check-in area is a bit smaller now to make way for expansion in Security and Departures but was always too big for it's own good anyway so not a problem. The new Security area is much improved from the old one not only quicker and less stressful but bright and airy. Departures is a little bit cramped at busier times but looking forward to the first phase of it's expansion opening this summer allowing for more shops restaurants and more seating areas. Have always liked the Satellite buildings where the gates are at Stansted more peaceful than the main Departure lounge with great views across the airport if you like that kind of thing. Sometimes there's a bit of a walk to and from the gates but not as bad as some airports. Arrivals is generally ok although they could do with expanding and improving the Passport Control area. The baggage reclaim area is spacious and usually very quick and easy to get through. There is generally a good spread of facilities such as toilets currency exchange shops restaurants and so on throughout the entire airport. In terms of getting to and from Stansted the train isn't the quickest in the world at 45 minutes to Central London but is literally downstairs beneath the Terminal which is ideal when travelling with luggage. Lots of Car hire companies as well as a taxi transfers can be found in the Arrivals area plus there's also lots of bus and coach services. With the M11 and A120 nearby it couldn't be easier to get there via road. Overall a very good airport that is highly functional with plenty of facilities and easy to get through.

I agree with all the negative comments about queues at passport control and would also add that poor signage made arriving at Stansted very confusing when you speak English! Must be awful for visitors. The shuttle to the terminal was confusing if you had not used it before. Signs for the toilets were almost non existent. The poor people on the Bureau de Change seemed to be having to tell everyone where the loos were! My son was picking me up and having checked on the website I told him to wait on the mid stay car park as it was free for an hour which I thought would be plenty of time. As it took so long to get to him we got to the ticket barrier just exactly at 18.41 the time he was allowed. The machine said we had to pay £1 even though we were not over the hour. I then had to rummage around in my bags in the boot to get a £1 coin to find that that barrier only took cards. So I went to the guy in the booth to explain expecting him to let me through. But no he insisted we were over the time as it was now 18.43! Exasperated and tired I slammed my £1 coin on his desk. I could not believe his attitude and that they were so rude and unhelpful all for the sake of £1! I then had to drop my husband back there today to get his return flight. I had to pay £2 to use the drop off car park. This is money making dressed up as security measures! We live in Staffordshire and I have just spent 8 hours driving to Stansted and back because I could not get the flights I needed from either Birmingham Manchester or East Midlands where I usually fly from. But I will never use Stansted again. Be warned!

I have just been reading all the reviews for Stansted and agree with all the negative comments and like many people who have submitted a review I will never use this airport again. It was by the far the cheapest but I would rather pay £100 more per person than go from this airport again. When we arrived to go on holiday the airport was so packed we couldn't find anywhere to sit and eat and as I was travelling with a small child this was not acceptable. The queues to buy some highly priced food was dreadful and staff were very uncourteous. The journey to the gate took ages - about 20 minutes walking. Our child was exhausted but we couldn't carry her as we had all our suitcases to contend with. Not a good start to our holiday. When we arrived back to Stansted at midnight it was mayhem. It took us about an hour to get through passport control. We all have chips in our passports but apparently you cannot go through the chip machines if you are under 18 - so what's the point of having a chip then. We eventually got out to get the jet parks bus but having walked to that bus stop there was a sign telling us to go back to the long stay bus. Once we arrived there we found some people had been waiting over an hour to get a bus. It was an absolute nightmare and I will never ever travel from Stansted again. Too many flights but not enough seating for all the passengers in the terminal. Staff that need some serious customer service training. More buses needed for the car parks - an hours wait for a bus to get back to your car is ridiculous - no wonder the car park prices are reasonably cheap. Never again! It completely spoiled our holiday!

On a delayed from with Ryanair from Treviso running an hour behind schedule. Finally landed to be held at the end of the runway and told another plane was parked on their stand. Stood for 30 minutes. Got to stand had to wait while they found someone to direct the plane into the stand! Got on the stand had to wait until they found the steps for a further 20 minutes. What airport appears to not know it has a flight coming in and when it does realise only then organises part of what's required of them. The Passport control took an age and new ePassports took longer than conventional.

Stansted used to be a pleasant place from which to fly. Not any more. More of a cattle market with too many people occupying too little space in the departures area and not being allowed to go to the gate until the last minute. Returning into Stansted is terrible. The UK Border Agency should be ashamed. Such long queues and so few automatic machines. Such a bad first impression for any visitor visiting the UK for the first time. Needs urgent action from both the airport operator and UKBA.

Flew out at 8 am and arrived back at 11 pm. Outbound the new arrangement for security worked well and quickly. The terminal lounge was very crowded and getting to our gate was difficult because of congestion (too many bodies not knowing what they were doing or where they were going) both in the corridors towards the piers and at the gate. Passport control on the way back was fast although more e-boarder gates would be welcome - five are not enough. My only negative comment is that the text on the flight details screens is too small for those of us with old eyesight.

We use Stansted regularly and it is generally okay. Yes it can take 10-15 minutes to get through security (and we have occasionally had our bags searched) but staff have always been very polite and professional. The airport is getting much busier and it can only be hoped that the internal changes make a positive difference. Our big gripe is that gate numbers are now given only 30 minutes or so before the flight departs - there can be no reason other than airport management trying to keep people in the departure lounge to encourage them to spend more money. Stop it! It certainly has the opposite effect on us and suspect it does on others too. This also serves to make the departure lounge very crowded noisy and hot (small wonder tempers are frayed). Resume announcing gates numbers ASAP.

Always seem to have trouble at security at this airport. Seems to be extremely fussy and inconsistent. Saw a lady in front lose a very nice pair of nail clipper that would not cause harm to anyone even is used as a club. The main problem arose on our return where we joined a queue for immigration in the approach corridor. There were several announcements that no one could understand. When we finally got to the immigration control area it was wall to wall people. How can they think of increasing the capacity of this airport when it cannot cope with what it has.

I travel every week with work and dread the times I have to fly from Stansted. Yesterday I went to gate 34 instead of gate 41 by mistake I looked at the wrong flight on the board so my mistake. But because the flight was not given a gate until 30 mins before departure this left me little time to get back to 41. Only then did I discover you can not get back from this terminal without the help of a retrieval guy as the shuttle train does not take you back from where you just came. Madness so I called a number and waited and waited and waited for 25 mins for someone to meander upstairs. I got to the gate saw my flight there asked if I could board was told no as it had been closed. The plane stood there for another 45 minutes with a technical issue so I watched as my bag was taken off and eventually the plane was fixed with no help from either Swissport or Ryanair staff available. All I can say is has anybody from this airport ever been on a customer service training course or had any customer training at all as every single member of staff from Swissport look upon you as a potential headache rather than a customer.

What a bad airport landed at 11pm took over 1.5 hrs to get through customs. Then waited 35 minutes for a bus I will never use this airport again. I'd rather drive to Gatwick. An extra hour drive the to go through that experience again. Avoid this airport if you can.