Bosses at Stansted Airport are encouraging passengers to arrive in good time for their flights, as the Essex hub gears up for its busiest Easter since the coronavirus pandemic began.
An estimated 1.3million people will travel through Stansted over the school holidays, with 240,000 passengers expected over the four-day Easter weekend – compared to around only 8,000 in 2021.
With many passengers not having travelled internationally for two years, the airport is advising travellers to arrive ahead of time and familiarise themselves with security requirements to help limit queues.
Steve Griffiths, Stansted’s managing director, said queues may be longer than passengers are used to but stressed staff are working hard to ensure people "have the best possible experience" at the airport.
“The lifting of international travel restrictions has been extremely good news for passengers and the whole of the aviation industry following the most challenging two years in our history," he said.
"We know people are excited to be flying again after such a long time, so we want to provide them with the best possible experience.
“I want to reassure people that we are working hard to get back to where we need to be.
“While queues may be longer than people are used to at times, customers can definitely help us by arriving in good time."
Mr Griffiths also reminded people to check for road or rail disruptions that could affect their journey to the airport, and added that the usual restrictions on liquids, sharp items and electronics in hand luggage continue to apply.
Stansted is also bracing itself for a bumper summer as people flock back to overseas travel following the lifting of Covid restrictions.
Pre-pandemic, Stansted saw a total of 8.1m passengers through June, July and August in 2019, while only 1.4m used the airport over the same months in 2020, followed by 2.1m in 2021 as Covid restrictions limited travel.
In January, the airport launched a major recruitment drive to fill hundreds of roles in security, as well as jobs with airlines and ground handlers.
Mr Griffiths said: “We’ve held a number of recruitment events and on Tuesday, April 5, we will join forces with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to host a jobs fair at the club's iconic new stadium.
“A major refurbishment of our departure lounge is also included in our summer preparations.
“We are investing more than £12million in improving the customer experience with a range of new bars, restaurants, and retail outlets.
“Over the next few weeks, passengers may experience some disruption in the departure lounge, so please be patient with us as we carry out this work.
“We are all really excited to welcome more and more passengers back to London Stansted and will be working hard to ensure they have the best possible experience while at the airport.”
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