London’s Stansted Airport has reported a record operational performance for 2023/24, adding that its Dublin route was its busiest during the year.
In total, Stansted welcomed 28.5 million passengers in the 12 months to the end of March.
The near 12% increase represented the airport’s strongest ever 12 month period.
The early Easter helped boost monthly numbers to record levels, in March, as more than 2.18 million passengers passed through the terminal, beating the previous high set in 2019 by almost 80,000.
The top destinations in the year to March 2024 were Dublin, Istanbul and Edinburgh, with the most popular countries being Spain, Italy and Poland.
Meanwhile, the destinations showing the biggest year-on-year growth included Dubai, thanks the Emirates’ rapid return to a double-daily service, Switzerland, Iceland and Moldova.
Gareth Powell, London Stansted’s Managing Director, said: “I’m really pleased we were able to round-off what was our busiest and most successful winter season at London Stansted with yet another record-breaking month in March, our sixth successive busiest ever passenger month.
“It’s very clear our passengers really enjoy the fantastic range of destinations we are able to offer at London Stansted, plus the reliable, smooth and efficient airport operation. Supported by the hard work and dedication of colleagues right across the airport, these key drivers are allowing us to continue delivering record passenger numbers.
“I’m delighted we successfully delivered a very busy Easter getaway for hundreds of thousands of passengers, and our we are now gearing up for what we predict will be our busiest ever summer.
“In preparation to welcome millions of passengers heading away this summer, or overseas tourists choosing Stansted as their gateway to the UK, we are recruiting even more colleagues to join our teams and upgrading many facilities and services to enhance the passenger experience as demand to fly from London Stansted continues to grow at pace.”
