Stansted Airport today reported a successful start to the peak summer season, with nearly 1.95million passengers passing through its terminal during July.

The total of 1.948m represents a 12.2% increase on July 2013 and the airport’s highest figure for any month since August 2011.

Stansted’s rolling annual passenger total of 18.695m is now nearly 1m higher compared with 17.699m in the previous 12 months, representing growth of 5.6%.

Monthly passenger growth averages 8% since the start of this year, which the airport attributes to a combination of new airline deals, new route launches and increased frequencies on popular existing routes, and it says the trend is set to continue.

Stansted managing director Andrew Harrison said: “When MAG acquired Stansted Airport just 18 months ago it set out to return the airport to growth and make it the best airport in London.

“I’m delighted to see that growth potential become a reality with the airport now serving a million more passengers than it did a year ago and monthly passenger numbers increasing by more than 12% to give us our busiest single month for nearly three years.

“Our £260m investment programme to transform passenger services and facilities continues at pace with the first phase of our brand new departure lounge opening in July, boasting the largest walk-through World Duty Free in terms of retail space.”

He added: “We’ve also been working in partnership with UK Border Force to urgently improve the experience of passengers arriving at immigration, particularly in peak times, so it’s excellent news we will very soon be opening the initial phase of an extended and re-configured border control area that includes the introduction of 15 new generation ePassport gates to help speed passengers safely and securely through the immigration process.”