London Stansted begins new year with record breaking January

London Stansted kicked-off 2024 with another strong passenger performance to record the airport’s busiest ever January.

Stansted welcomed 1.95 million passengers in January 2024, up 6.9% on the same month last year, and beating the previous best of 1.93 million passengers set in January 2019.

The number of passengers using London Stansted in the 12-months ending January 2024 reached 28.1 million, an increase of 14.8% on the previous year.

The top three most popular countries during the month were Spain, Italy and Poland, while the busiest routes were Dublin, Istanbul and Edinburgh.

Operational performance in January remained strong, with 99% of departing passengers passing through security in 15 minutes or less, and with an average queue time of under four minutes during the main departure peaks.

Gareth Powell, London Stansted’s Managing Director, said:

“I’m really pleased we were able to deliver yet another the strong passenger performance last month, welcoming more passengers in a January than ever before at London Stansted, and coming hot on the heels of a record-breaking December.

 “I’m also delighted our passengers continue to experience a smooth and efficient security operation when flying from the airport, which we aim to maintain as we welcome more passengers when they head off on half-term breaks this month, and as we build-up to what we anticipate will be a very busy Easter next month.

“The year ahead looks really exciting for everyone connected with London Stansted, and the millions of passengers who will continue to take advantage of the extensive choice, great value and convenience we are able offer.

“We have a host of new routes launching this year, including Royal Jordanian’s new service to Amman next month, British Airways flights to Nice, Florence and Ibiza plus new routes from Ryanair, Jet2.com and Sun Express.   

“And we will also continue driving forward our investment plans to transform the airport experience and operation. This will include the opening of a new EV charging forecourt, the commencement of work on our 14.3MW solar farm as well as finalising design details of our terminal extension ahead of the first phase of construction later in the year.