Latest News
Here at Airport Parking Stansted we aim to bring you latest news updates on stories about Stansted Airport. We hope you find them interesting and useful:
BAA owners want second runway at Stansted Airport February 20 2010
There is significant support for the construction of a second runway at London Stansted Airport, the owners BAA have stated.Responding to claims made by a local MP that the company has "no serious ally" for the plans, BAA has revealed that it has significant backing from regional businesses, the Dunmow Broadcast reports.According to the firm, a 2006 Chamber of Commerce survey showed that 83 per cent of businesses in the area were behind the plans for a second runway, while half said it would benefit them directly.
Stansted Airport helps with Haiti Relief January 22 2010
BAA,the owners of Stansted Airport , together with British Airways are helping with the relief programme for Haiti.
The British Airways Boeing 747 freighter departed from the UK’s third busiest airport carrying aid from Oxfam, the Red Cross, UNICEF and the World Food Programme.David Johnston, Stansted Airport’s Managing Director, said: “We are all too aware of the devastating effects last week’s earthquake has had on the people of Haiti. The supplies onboard this BA aircraft will be vital in helping the on-going relief effort, so we’re more than happy to waive the usual charges for the flight and do our little bit to help.”
Ryanair has more criticism for Stansted Airport October 3 2009
Ryanair is reducing the number of weekly flights from Stansted Airport from more than 1,850 to just under 1,600 this winter and the airline reckons it will carry around 900,000 fewer passengers than last winter.
Ryanair has 36 planes based at Stansted Airport but this will be reduced to 28.The airline blamed the capacity cutback, which follows its announcement earlier this week of fewer flights this winter from Dublin, on a number of reasons.These include the huge hike in oil prices, the "expense" of using Stansted and the "total failure of the inadequate Civil Aviation Authority regulatory regime" to control costs for airlines at Stansted.Ryan Air said it would lose less money this winter by sitting eight aircraft on the ground rather than flying them "at an expensive airport like Stansted".
The Irish low-cost carrier said a request to Stansted operator BAA to operate the eight aircraft in return for a substantial discount on airport charges had been refused.Ryan Air chief executive Michael O'Leary said today: "These winter schedule cutbacks, which are significantly greater than those of last winter, show just how damaging the BAA airport monopoly has become to consumers and the best interests of London, UK tourism and the economy generally."He added that the cutbacks reaffirmed the "abject failure" of the Civil Aviation Authority regulatory team which was running "a laughable regime".
Mr O'Leary predicted that the cutbacks would mean around 900 job losses at Stansted, including around 150 Ryanair staff.He said that no routes would be axed at Stansted this winter, but that frequency on nearly all routes would be less.Ryanair has always maintained that it will never introduce fuel surcharges.Asked about this today, Mr O'Leary said that fuel charges were introduced by big airlines who passed their costs onto their passengers, adding: "That's something we don't do."
He said there was a crisis in the aviation industry around every four to five years and that this one just happened to be about oil.He said Britons were reluctant to give up their holidays, but did want to travel cheaply during a recession.
He predicted that some smaller low-fare carriers could "go bust this winter" and said that, if Ryanair took over rival Irish carrier, Aer Lingus, it would run Aer Lingus as a separate brand with separate management.Later, Ryanair said it was closing operations at seven of its European bases from November 4 to December 19 this year.
The bases are Basel, Budapest, Palma in Majorca, Krakow and Rzeszow in Poland, Salzburg and Valencia.The airline blamed high airport charges and high oil prices for the decision.
A spokesman for Stansted operator BAA said: "Let's be clear. The aviation industry like many others is coping with the challenges of a global economic downturn. Everyone is feeling the pinch."The dynamic nature of the budget airline industry means that routes and flight schedules change all the time - and at times like this, more so."Many airlines, including Ryanair, always reduce services in the winter season. This year will be no exception - even British Airways is cutting back. Surely, this is a time for our industry to pull together, not spat with each other by press release."
Ryanair Stansted Airport Services to Granada under threat September 24 2009
Not content with having bust-ups with British Airports, Ryanair is in dispute with the operators of Granda Airport in Spain, and is threatening to pull out of the airport.
At present, Ryanair flies from London Stansted Airport, Liverpool Airport and, East Midlands Airport.
More rail disruption to Stansted Airport August 13 2009
A 48-hour strike by members of U.K. rail unions will shut down most of National Express Group Plc’s East Anglia and Stansted Express services today.
It’s the third of four planned strikes on the express service between London’s Liverpool Street station and Stansted Airport and East Anglia’s routes between Liverpool Street and the counties of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.The unions representing train drivers want an agreement on pay and working conditions. The company said it has offered above-inflation pay increases and that a strike is unnecessary.“The company seems to live on another planet,” said Aslef General Secretary Keith Norman in a statement on the union’s Web site yesterday. “Train drivers voted by 95 percent to 5 percent to back industrial action.” Norman criticized the rail company, saying it doesn’t realize what the problem is and isn’t doing anything to remedy it.Norman said on Aug. 3 that the strike reflects “the poor industrial relations that have existed at this company for a long time.”The walkout is scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow. The fourth walkout is planned for Aug. 20-21.
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Passengers to Stansted Airport Hit by Rail Strikes August 8 2009
" People travelling to and from Stansted Airport by rail faced disruption as services struggled to return to normal following a two-day strike.
The walkout by members of Aslef and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport ended at midnight on Friday.
Early morning services between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street were cancelled or replaced by buses.
Stansted Express apologised and said the disruption was because trains were in the wrong place.
Pay row
A spokesman added that no-one had missed their flights.
The 0655 BST Stansted Express train from London Liverpool Street was cancelled and no replacement bus service was laid on.
Five more trains to the airport, leaving between 0410 BST and 0555 BST, were replaced by a bus service.
A train from Stansted to London was also cancelled.
Further disruption
The unions are currently in a dispute with National Express East Anglia over pay and conditions.
A National Express East Anglia spokesman said: "At the start of service today (Saturday) there were one or two pre-planned cancellations because certain trains were in the wrong place.
"We announced this before service. Everything is now running to schedule again."
Some disruption is expected to continue into Sunday due to engineering work.
Further strikes are planned for next week, booking clerks from the Transport Salaried Staff Association will join a 48-hour stoppage next week.
Talks will be held on Monday to see if a resolution can be found."
Ryanair switches Gatwick Airport based aircraft to Spain July 29 2009
Ryanair has announced that it will open 39 new routes to/from the Canary Islands this winter starting in October. This will comprise of 16 new routes to Gran Canaria, 15 to Lanzarote and 8 to Tenerife (now 16 in total) as Ryanair offers competition, choice and the lowest airfares to/from the Canary Islands. These new routes will bring 2 million new passengers, create 2,000 new jobs and deliver a visitor spend of over €386m for the Islands.
Ryanair’s big expansion in the Canary Islands is due to “zero” tourist taxes in Spain and the 100% discount on airport charges this winter. This contrasts with the route cutbacks Ryanair has announced in the UK and Ireland where airport charges at Dublin and Stansted are increasing and the Irish and UK Governments have imposed suicidal tourist taxes of €10 and £10 respectively.
Ryanair celebrated these 39 new routes and 2 million passengers for the Canary Islands by releasing 20,000 fare free* seats for travel to/from the Canary Islands from 26th October until 19th December which are available for booking on www.ryanair.com until midnight Wednesday 5th August
Speaking in Tenerife today, Ryanair’s Michael Cawley said: “Ryanair is delighted to open 39 new routes to/from the Canary Islands in October which will allow us to bring more low fares, more competition and choice to even more consumers/visitors of the Canary Islands.
“Ryanair’s 39 new routes at Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife will deliver 2million passengers and sustain at least 2,000 jobs at these three Canary Island airports. These 39 new routes are the result of the 100% discount offered by AENA on its airport charges. The continuation of these routes past the 31st March 2010 will be dependent on the extension of these vital discounts. We are confident that in the current climate of reduced traffic and tourism in Spain and the Canary Islands that the Spanish Government will see the wisdom of extending low airport costs not just in the Canary Islands but throughout Spain”.
Budget airline Ryanair has announced a reduction in its services at Stansted Airport, blaming higher charges.
Ryanair will reduce the number of aircraft it runs at Stansted Airport by 40% in its winter schedule, and will cut the number of flights by 30%, it said.
But it will operate only four fewer planes than it did last winter.
The company said that Stansted was one of its most expensive bases, and added that an increase in air passenger duty tax was also a factor in its decision.
The airline operated 40 aircraft from Stansted Airport in the summer, but said this would fall to 24 this winter.
Last winter, Ryanair also cut its Stansted fleet to 28 planes from 36 in the summer.
Stansted Airport's managing director, Stewart Wingate, said: "It is common practice for [Ryanair] to reduce frequency to various destinations during the winter season as they have done in previous years.
"However, it should be noted that Ryanair recently announced it will launch a new service to Oslo from Stansted this October."
Ryanair said it would switch the 16 aircraft it was withdrawing from Stansted Airport to other European bases. It expects to carry 2.5 million fewer passengers between October and March as a result of the latest move.
Ryanair also confirmed it had been in talks with European safety regulators about proposals to allow passengers to stand on its flights.
Tourist tax
In November, air passenger duty will increase from £10 to £11.
Ryanair said it had written to the prime minister, asking him to scrap "this damaging tourist tax", adding that several other European governments had done so in recent months.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said that UK traffic and tourism was collapsing, although Ryanair continued to "grow traffic rapidly in those countries which welcome tourists instead of taxing them".
"Ryanair's 40% capacity cutback at London Stansted shows just how much Gordon Brown's £10 tourist tax and the BAA monopoly's high airport charges are damaging London and UK tourism and the British economy generally," he added.
Mr O'Leary added that Britain's airports would see 10 million fewer passengers this year.
Are trains to Stansted Airport always late?
Picture the scene. A couple and their two children are waiting on the platform at Leicester railway station, waiting for a train to Stansted Airport, where they will fly off for a much needed two weeks in the Algarve sunshine. Station announcement. The train ( which started its journey from Liverpool or somewhere else up north) is an hour late. The station announcer says sorry in that "why should I care voice". Children become more impatient. Platform station gets more crowded. Train still doesn't come. The train after the late one doesn't come either. " Staff shortages" says the disinterested station announcer. More insincere apologies.
Children now on the verge of a riot. Late train arrives, nearly 90 minutes late. Unfortunately, it is only a two carriage train, and is already packed before it arrives. The platform surges aboard, standing room only, with no room for families with kid or luggage.
Wait for the next train. Comes 30 minutes late. Same story, only two carriages. No room. Kids start fighting.
Wait for next train. That is on-time, hooray, scramble aboard, but have to change trains twice to get to Stansted Airport. No cateriong facilities. Kids have to fight their way to the toilet.
Arrive at Stansted, exhaused. Kids still fighting. As we are so late, have to dash through check-in, and almost miss the plane. Arrive in the Algarve utterly exhaused. What a way to start a holiday!
Think this story is made up? Well, it isn't. It really happened.
Next time, I will take the car to Stansted Airport and use the excellent airport parking stansted facilities. By booking early online, you can save up to 60% off gate prices.
I will also use the Stansted Airport Lounge, where adults can enjoy a glass of wine, and the kids can gorge themselves on snacks and soft drinks.
What's more, next time I will arrive in the Algarve refreshed and happy.
BAA, the owner of London Stansted Airport has announced a sharp fall of 11.5% in the number of passengers using the airport in June 2009.
Still, on the positive side, slightly smaller numbers make your stansted parking a little easier.
National Express may lose express train service from London to Stansted Airport
National Rail is giving up the East Coast London to Edinburgh franchaise, as losses incurred on the route continue to rise due to the downturn.
The Department for Transport said it intended to cancel National Express’ franchise to operate trains in eastern England, including the express train service from London to Stansted airport.
“I note that the parent groups of previous franchise failures are no longer in the U.K. rail business,” said Andrew Adonis, the secretary of state for transport.
“It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging,” Adonis said.
National Express said it would resist any attempt to cancel the franchise for East Anglia, the eastern English region that includes the Stansted rail line.
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EasyJet has announced an innovative new service on its inbound flights to London Gatwick, London Stansted and London Luton Airports. The airline will sell London Transport Oyster cards on its flights for a trial period of three months, and if the trial is sucessful may extend the service.
Boris Johnson, mayor of London said "Many of us share the experience of arriving in a new city and having our first moments taken up with the baffling process of working out what tickets are needed.
"People flying to London with easyJet can now pick up one of our cards and enjoy the ease, convenience and good value offered by Oyster."
Well done to EasyJet for this great idea.
New Lounge for Stansted Airport Airport passengers to Newquay.
A new executive lounge for business passengers using Newquay Cornwall Airport was officially inaugurated by the leader of Cornwall Council, Alec Robertson, on Wednesday, 08 July.
Ryanair have regular services from Stansted Airport to Newquay , with the new Newquay Airport lounge allowing business passengers from Edinburgh to relax on their way home.
Business passengers looking for the best of both worlds can book a Stansted Airport Lounge.
Arrive at Newquay totally refreshed.