Emirates becomes latest airline to serve London’s fastest growing airport following Stansted’s record breaking May
- Emirates launches new Dubai route connecting to over 150 global destinations
- Primera Air adds Boston and Toronto links to join New York service
- 200,000 more passengers pass through Stansted than previous busiest May
The launch of more long-haul routes from Stansted Airport helped boost passenger numbers to new record levels as London’s fastest growing airport welcomed over 2.5 million passengers during its busiest ever May.
The UK’s fourth busiest airport saw over 200,000 more passengers (+9.2 per cent) pass through the terminal than the same month in 2017, and the record breaking month was followed by the launch of Emirates’ new daily service to Dubai, the first international airline based in the Middle East to serve Stansted and connect the East of England with Emirates’ global network of over 150 destinations via its Dubai hub.
During May, Primera Air began direct flights to Boston Logan Airport, connecting one of the most successful and dynamic regions in the UK with the world’s leading location for the life science sector on the US East coast. The airline has also added a new service to Toronto in addition to its New York service launched earlier this year.
In the 12 months ending May 2018, Stansted’s passenger numbers increased by 7.3 per cent compared with the previous year, taking the moving annual total to over 26.5 million.
London Stansted continues to go from strength to strength, and our busiest ever May and the exciting arrival of one of the world’s truly global airlines in Emirates, is further evidence of our ambition to attract more airlines and play a key role in delivering the expected growth in the London market over the next decade.
“The trend is already evident in 2018 where we will be the fastest growing major London airport. Attracting an airline of Emirates’ calibre is recognition not only of the significant investment we have made - and continue to make - in our facilities, but also the strength of our catchment and the opportunity that our available runway capacity gives them to continue growing in the UK.
“We know that we have even more potential, not only as an economic driver for the region but also by providing greater international connectivity to UK plc. We submitted our planning application earlier this year to increase the number of passengers the airport is permitted to serve each year by 8 million to 43 million per annum, and made a commitment to do this within our existing permissions for flight movements and noise.
“The reaction to our plans from the business community in particular has been very positive with support coming from across the region from SMEs to giants such as Astra Zeneca in Cambridge and the universities of Essex and Cambridge, all highlighting the airport’s role as the biggest single site employer in the East of England and an enabler of global trade.
“Last week the Government announced its support for UK airports looking to make best use of existing runway capacity. This support is a very welcome as it’s vital for the economy that the country has the best possible international connections and that there is an urgent need to actively support airports, like London Stansted, that can deliver that access now.
