Stansted Airport handled nearly 1.82million passengers during May, a 7.6% increase compared with the same month last year.

And the rolling annual total of travellers using the airport grew to 18.29m for the year to the end of May, a rise of 3.3% on the previous 12 months.

In April, Stansted’s rolling annual total broke through the 18m mark for the first time since December 2011, reflecting a successful first year of ownership for Manchester Airports Group during which new agreements were secured with a number of carriers including Ryanair and easyJet.

April’s total of 1.72m was 10.7% up compared with the same month a year earlier, although this was partly down to the timing of Easter which fell in March in 2013 but in April this year.

Andrew Harrison, Stansted’s managing director, said: “The increased number of passengers using Stansted during May is very encouraging, continues the growth trend we’ve experienced at the airport over the last year and reflects the strong confidence of our airline partners as they add more key routes and increase frequency.

“Our £80m terminal transformation project continues to make good progress with the first phase of our retail re-development in the departure lounge soon to open.

“We are now entering the peak summer period and expect to be even busier in the coming months as we welcome even more passengers taking advantage of Stansted’s extensive route network.”