London Stansted Airport

Key Details

Code STN

http://www.stanstedairport.com

http://www.baa.com

Stansted Airport is the king of econonomy airports. Ryanair run to more destinations from here than any other UK airport. Easyjet also have Stansted as one of their major hubs. Several other budget and charter airlines also run from here. The building itself is a giant hangar-type affair, with kiosk-type buildings for all the shops and single storey walls separating the flight-side and check-in areas. The overall effect is of a pleasant open terminal which is larger than it really is. A good range of shops and cafes is available, although prices are at the usual fairly-astronomical levels you find in all UK airports. The gates are mostly connected to the main terminal by a transit system, meaning that once you get to them there is no turning back, and since there is only a coffee stall and seating at the gates you probably don't want to head there too early. Between the absolute 40 minute cut-off for most budget airlines, the transit to the gates and the possible queues at security, you should aim to arrive in plenty of time.

Getting there on foot

Stansted Airport is fairly close to Stansted itself, but Stansted is quite small and more difficult to get to than the airport. Face facts - you're just going to have to pay for the train.

Getting there by public transport

Train.

Stansted Airport station is underneath the terminal building - just take the escalator down two levels from the main exit. The Stansted Express service (run by One) (15 pounds, 40 minutes, 4 per hour) goes direct to Tottenham Hale station in north London (for connecting to the Victoria Line to destinations in north and west London, and the west end), and Liverpool Street. Through tickets can be bought to and from any National Rail station. There is also an hourly service to Birmingham, which connects to the East Coast mainline (for York, Leeds Newcastle and Scotland) at Peterborough, and to the Cross Country network (for Manchester, Liverpool and the Lake District) at Birmingham. See the National Rail website for details.

Coach.

National Express run coaches from Stansted to London (10 pounds, 1 hour 45 minutes, every 20 minutes) and various locations in the Southeast such as Brighton and Cambridge. See their website for details.