London Stansted Airport

The new owners have not changed the drop off/pick up arrangements to the old highly efficient system that existed about 2 years ago. I picked up my sister who has a disabled badge at the airport who is unable to take her case to the car. To reach the short pick up area she also has a long walk from the terminal. The problem is I cannot leave the car unattended even for a minute to help her as the patrol van will immediately start to put it on a tow away truck and then demand £180 to release the car the whole arrangement is totally disabled unfriendly. I am not sure how this complies with current legislation on disabled access. If this airport are going to improve their performance they will then need to have attendants available on request with wheelchairs in the terminal to escort disabled people to the pick up point and wait with then until their transport arrives. Also the vehicle "police" who operate at the pick up point need to be instructed to not impound any car where the person being picked up holds a disabled badge.

Worst experience in an airport ever: Allowed over 2 hours to get onto a 6.30am flight. Firstly queued in the car park to be charged for dropping off - nice new touch to fleece the public. Absence of any organisation in baggage drop off area - "queued" (more like crowded) for over an hour. Queued again for security check - with everyone stressed as flights nearing gate close people cutting through cordons no-one in charge. Ran to gate at the far end of the terminal just in time to catch our flight. Returning from Naples no queues clean efficient airport friendly staff well organised.

I have long been of the opinion that Stansted has no concept of customer care. The whole place seems vaguely grubby staff are frequently rude and security is a nightmare. However dropping off or picking up passengers was always fairly simple. To drop off you drove up to the terminal your passengers got out (under cover) you drove out. To pick up you drove to the pick-up zone your passengers got in you drove out. Not any more. The whole thing has become shambolic. This morning I drove my husband to Stansted with the objective of dropping him off at 5 am for a 6.30 am flight where he had already checked in online but we were allowing at least an hour for him to get through security (see earlier comment about security). Arrived at 5 am discovered you could no longer drive up to the terminal and then took another 10 minutes to get to the so-called drop-off area where we were confronted by vehicles in the parking areas on both sides and also in the central lane which explained why there was a traffic queue trying to get into the drop-off area in the first place. As there was absolutely no chance of parking properly my husband got out and then wended his way through the melee. Fortunately he had no luggage to impede him. If the drop-off zone was properly sign-posted perhaps the log jam in the first lane would not occur but at the same time you cannot blame people for wanting to be as close as possible to what is anyway the far end of the terminal building. This morning was dry and warm so not a problem but in inclement weather with luggage? I wonder whether the designers of this chaos have ever tried it out as paying customers. In my book Stansted has gone from mediocre to completely shambolic.

This is my 2nd time using London Stansted airport and be sure that I will never use this airport again. The security staff are very unprofessional and obstructive. Expect a delay and unnecessary checking of your luggage if you question them. You feel as if you have gone back to school days. This is a very cheap layout inside the airport. Be sure to arrive at 4hrs before your flight departs security is slow unhelpful and rude. My 1st experience was similar and most definitely will avoid using this airport.

Sale of Stansted by BAA to Manchester Airport Group seems to have been a disaster what had been a pleasant well managed airport has descended into badly managed chaos in a very short time. Charging for drop off in the area close to the terminal was charged at££2 for 10 minutes - but only advertised on small sign after entering area. Generally signage was poor and amateurish - change machine did not accept debit cards ticket machine - what for? no ticket issued at entrance. Exasperated finally approached exit barrier relief to see cards accepted was short-lived when no reaction from machine at barrier - good 5 minutes before someone finally answered call to be told that that barrier was not accepting cards and to try another. Reversed out of lane and into next - barrier not working but at least display said cards not accepted; only at third barrier was I successful. Stansted seems to be descending to the levels of Luton.

I use Stansted regularly (and will continue to do so unfortunately). My advice is to arrive at least 4/5 hours prior to departure. Security were announcing that bags they wished to inspect - would take 1 hour for someone to get round to you - a poor passenger about to embark on their honeymoon complained as they would miss their flight - who subsequently did and left security. Do not question security otherwise they will purposely become obstructive as many of the passengers found. Set down costs £2 for 10 minutes but there are traffic marshals appearing to slow the whole process so you end up staying over 10 minutes. This as found out incurs a large fine - so if you stay any longer be sure to bring your credit card which is accepted in all their machines. Plastic bags must be Stansted approved plastic bags so expect to pay 2 pound for this even if you are using a bag given to you from another airport (including London Heathrow). When I called to complain about the parking situation was told "its the rules sir and if you have a problem with our charges perhaps you should use a different airport".

Having used this airport many times I have noticed that its standards have dropped dramatically since 2007 and it is clear that the new owners MAG have a lot of work to do to restore Stansted to its former status. The experience itself is alright but there's no 'wow factor'. What Stansted really does need is a greater mix of airlines especially to long haul destinations such as New York or Dubai as there are currently no long haul flights from Stansted. Once services like these are introduced this will save many passengers having to use the busier congested airports like Heathrow and Gatwick. Furthermore we tend to travel to Romania frequently and it would be good to see carriers like Wizz Air introduce a Stansted-Bucharest service which would save us the hassle of using Luton airport. Clearly Stansted has a lot of potential to attract future long haul growth and new airlines besides Ryanair. Once MAG improves the terminal and its facilities I am confident that Stansted will improve and become more appealing.

I use London Stansted frequently since I find it by far the best of London's airports or indeed the UK. It is significantly busier departing in the morning and arriving in the evening yet the airport still maintains its level of great customer service. This is through consistently having short queuing times at check-in security and passport control as well the provision of a wide range of shops restaurants food and drink outlets throughout the airport plus a wide range of other useful facilities. Flight information screens are very clear and easy to follow and are closely located to all areas whilst staff are also very friendly and helpful making the airport even more stress free. Without fail the terminal is always immaculately clean and still remains fairly spacious as airports go at the busiest of times. Public transport to the airport is good but could be better. Rail services are regular and run directly from the Terminal Building but 45-50 minutes into London is a little long. Road access however is great as the M11 and A120 is always a breeze of a journey and rarely congested unlike the M1 and M25 serving other London airports. The only real criticism I have is the lack of choice of airlines since it is nearly all Ryanair and Easy Jet but overall London Stansted is a fantastic airport which I would highly recommend.

I was flying from Stansted to Malaga on Saturday 8th June 2913 and in all my 50 years of flying I have never witnessed such a complete shambles at security. The queue was more like a queue you would find at a premier football match than normal airport security. The end result it took nearly a full hour to get through and I missed my plane despite checking in on line. I have never missed a flight before and would suggest that 'flyer beware' if you use Stansted as your preferred airport.

We used Stansted for the first and last time! Ridiculous charges for drop off and collection. Difficult to find a trolley. Once inside the terminal impossible to move. Long queues for check in security and at the gate. Filthy washroom areas. Difficult to find a seat in the waiting lounge. The airport has all the facilities: bars snack bars restaurants shops duty free but the space within is very restricted and bumping into people was not uncommon.