London Stansted Airport

Stansted Airport is quite busy, modern, and lovely decorated. While coming here for the first time for departure, I am impressed how quickly I went through the security check. There are various places to eat, as well as shop for food, drinks and gifts. The selection of everything is amazing. There are different places where you may eat. The waiting areas are cosy because the seats are separated, and you may even charge your phone or other devices while sitting. Thank you for this experience!

Like many airports, use it out of season when there are no issues you’ll rate it high, use it peak season when there is a world-wide IT failure and you’ll hate it. I was there at the peak season and it took an hour to get from the main entrance to fast track security due to attempted crowd control. The queues, to check in, the worse experience was only in Antalya airport. Fast track security worked, that was a breeze, the horror of the departures lounge afterwards, that was a shock. The air conditioning couldn’t cope with the volume, there were no seats left, the food halls had 90 minute waits, it was horrific. There is very convenient train from London Liverpool Street to Stansted. The airport is too small in peak season, it’s actually dangerous. I wasn’t happy on how you have to go up and down so many stairs to get to the plane, you then have more steps to climb to board. Don’t bother with priority boarding either, staff don’t check and it’s a free for all to try and board first.

I had never set foot in Stansted Airport and when I knew we will flying out of Stansted, I decided to read the reviews about it and was horrified. So many negative comments, such terrible things, that I seriously considered changing flights with Ryanair. We ended up going there on the Stansted Express train, well before our flight, for fear of missing it due to slow customs. We waited a lot in the waiting room but there were no long queues at the counters. We left our suitcase through the express bag drop counter, where you weigh your suitcase and get a sticker for it from a machine. We did early check in for the flight online. We then went through customs quickly and without the problems I read about, the staff were polite and helped make everything go quickly and smoothly. The duty-free zone is large, with many different shops and places to eat. We traveled during the busy season, on the 18th of July, in the late afternoon (shortly before the big IT collapse). Apparently the season and time of travel has a big impact on the experience, because we had no bad experiences at this airport, apart from the wait we were prepared for, and our flight was delayed.

We literally spent all day at the airport because our flight was delayed by 6 hours. Security was fine. Walked through quickly. There’s a huge mall before you get to the gates. You’re supposed to sit in that area until you get the gate your flight is leaving from. The seating is wood so very uncomfortable. There’s nowhere to change your phone if you need to. There are several restaurants in the area . Toilets were clean

Like any airport, use it out of season when there are no issues you’ll rate it high, use it peak season when there is a world-wide IT failure and you’ll hate it. We used it peak season, the day when Cloudfair brought IT systems to a standstill, could we have had a worse day. If we had to manually check in at a desk, I’d have went home, luckily we’d already done so online and we only had hand luggage, it took an hour to get from the main entrance to fast track security due to attempted crowd control. The queues, to check in, I’d never seen anything like it. Fast track security worked, that was a breeze, the horror of the departures lounge afterwards, that was a shock. The air conditioning couldn’t cope with the volume, there were no seats left, the food halls had 90 minute waits, it was horrific. The airport is too small in peak season, it’s actually dangerous. I wasn’t happy on how you have to go up and down so many stairs to get to the plane, you then have more steps to climb to board. Don’t bother with priority boarding either, staff don’t check and it’s a free for all to try and board first.

Been here twice in the last few days. Quick and easy through security, toilets in the departure lounge are being renovated I think so ladies toilets were closed and a makeshift system was in place but was a bit of a nightmare and had quite a queue. All very pretty with Christmas decorations and feeling all exciting with people coming and going. I love the airport and flying and all the staff I encountered were very friendly x

the airport is quite easy to navigate. it is relatively neat, it could be better. duty shop is solid. there are not too many shops, but you can find interesting little things. all in all a pleasant experience.

Very clear instructions and directions for the passengers, but ofcourse crowded sometimes. The long stay car parking is a bit reasonable otherwise very expensive parking. The immigration was super quick and easy

Went to a restaurant at this airport that had an upstairs-- THE BEST espresso martini I've ever had. I wasn't really an espresso martini girly but this one has set me on a journey to try everyone's espresso martinis now! Thank youuuuu restaurant whose name I can't recall. I've raved to everyone about this martini!

This airport is ridiculous... Terrible flow of people, you have to weave your way through all these different shops before you even get to a sign that says where the terminals are. I thought LAX was bad but this was insane... The amount of people was insane, too. I was just shocked at how unorganized and crowded it was. Also, time to find out which gate you need to go to less than 1 hour? Seriously? It was terrible. Would never come to this airport again.

Flew here from Prague and this airport is not equipped to handle so many passengers. Absolute chaos moving through the airport. Passport control took forever landing in. Luckily we were just transiting through and needed to exit without much interaction. We also had FastTrack, which in hindsight, saved us a lot of time. 2 stars as the train conveniently connects to London.

I'm genuinely surprised by the size and amenities of this airport. Due to the fact that it is the biggest base for Ryanair, I assumed it would be a small airport for only budget flight and with just enough amenities to get people in and out of the airport. No. Turns out it serves over 180 destinations across 3 Europe, Asia, and Africa. BA and Emirates have some flights out of there. It also has 2 lounges: Escape (which takes Priority Pass) and Emirates. It has only one terminal but it's big enough that there's a rail shuttle with 3 stops that helps transport travelers around the airport. There's also a decent variety for food and shopping, a lot of buses to central London pass through there and there are options for hotels really close by (the shuttles stop at the bus station). While I wouldn't go out of my way to fly out of there, I certainly wouldn't mind it at all if it happened to be an option for what I needed. Recommend!

Oh lord, what a mess. I've been to 3 of London's airports and this was BY FAR the absolute worst. I spared them the one star, but they nearly earned this one. Walking into this airport, there is very little in the way of getting you where you need to go. This creates a ton of confusion, so a number of us were looking for some assistance. Unfortunately, there was only one employee present to assist the loads of confused departees. If you're flying RyanAir, you'll need to find the screen that will tell you which windows you can go to for check-in. That being said, the windows (service counters) that I was supposed to go to were closed, and everyone was funneled into the same windows; which also caused even more confusion as the line was weaving back and forth so some people were inadvertently cutting the long line funneling people into one window. Meanwhile, the short employee was being super rude to everyone asking questions, myself included. They literally yelled at me as if everything was self explanatory. Suuuuper rude for no reason. Luckily, another employee came around and seemed to actually be helping people. The whole check-in process was dreadful. The check-in and security areas were very cramped and congested, there were long lines at security, and loads of confused folks, somehow unaware of the liquid policy. I'd opt for the fast track if it's available for your booking. Or better yet, just avoid this airport if at all possible. The kicker of it all, once you get through all of the checkpoints, was a freaking giant, and I mean GIANT, duty free "Mall". If I had to guess, the passenger side of the airport was like 20% airport and 80% shopping mall!?!?!? Talk about a misappropriation of resources.

London Stansted is a really great airport but I've had to knock it down one star for the constant overcrowding here. STN is a hub for low cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizzair but it's also served by others like TUI and even the occasional Emirates flight. Due to there only being one terminal and more people opting to take the cheaper option, the airport just isn't big enough for the amount of passengers it sees. Thus, it only gets four stars.

Had a long layover in London Stansted on a recent trip. I think a lot of people end up here for layovers. Passport control had an extremely long line. While there are plenty of boards providing flight information, if you're earlier than a hour you won't know what your gate is. I found it to be a very overstimulating airport. Parts of it almost felt like Times Square in NYC with all the flashing lights and people. I was grateful to be able to escape to an airport lounge. The lounge did have a waitlist, but the host was super kind and helped me make a reservation. I didn't wait more than 10 minutes to be let in. If you're looking to do some serious shopping and find a lot of duty free goods, this is a wonderful airport for you. The people who worked here were kind and overall it was an ok experience.

It's an airport (I think I say that about every airport I write a review for). It's always funny to me how much people want out of airports. I want efficiency and pleasant staff which is what I got when I was here. Flew in from Rome, the only inconvenient part was going through border control. London airports now have the machines that scan your passport, however, the machine would not read mine so then I had to hop into a different line to have my passport checked by an actual person. I know that the pandemic made us want to automate so many things, but there's something to be said about human efficiency that no machine can really make up for. Just sayin'. Customs was so easy because no one was there. Getting public transportation from this airport was a little bit more of a hassle than others that I've been to in Europe simply because of the distance that we had to walk to get there, but once of the platform it was very quick. If you purchased tickets in advance then you need to go to the train platform and use the ticket machine to pick them up, any of the machines will do.

Not the worst airport I've ever been to but not that great either. Decided to go on an adventure and take a day trip to Dublin, flew with Ryan air on the 6am flight. Just getting to this airport was a hassle and I was doing it on very little sleep so it made everything more stressful. Highly recommend booking transportation to and from this airport in advance because although you can purchase tickets on the bus, they will most likely be full and you do not want to be stranded without a plan at 2:40am on a Tuesday wondering how to get to this airport. Once there, nice selection of food and drink options, lots of seating but everything is congregated in one spot, the further the gates are, the less options for food and drink and shopping. Made everyone be in the same general area and it was flooded with people at 5am. Plenty of people sleeping around too. Security was fast enough but they did flag me twice (once on the way to and once on the way back) for my 30ml hand sanitizer even though it was in a separate plastic bag and on its own tray. Very Strange. All this to say, not a must see airport.

Flying into Stansted from Cluj, Romania was an easy experience. We landed on a Friday around 1 p.m. and walked as a crowd for what seemed longer than normal to passport control. There's a special queue for families with children under 12, but it was way longer than the other queues. After waiting for 25 minutes, we were through and our bags were already ready for pick up. Following signs, we walked easily to the Stansted Express into London. (Book your tickets online ahead of

Dangerous Airport - Security staff and managers DO NOT care they work with FAULTY SECURITY EQUIPMENT (do not go to Ile 12 for security) I have just MISSED my flight at Stanstead Airport because of faulty scanners and unengaged staff at Ile 12. The scanner sent two of our bags, each in its own tray, for further checks for no reason (they contained ONLY clothes, no liquids, no other materials apart from cloth from the clothes). After waiting 37 min, literally begging staff to check the bags or I would miss the flight having got to the airport with ample time, I missed my flight. The worst was that they didn't even do the further checks to the bags because simply "the bags were not properly scanned in the first place as the equipment is faulty", so they just put them back in the original queue and the system cleared them. REALLY? How many bags containing potential harmful stuff does the faulty equipment at Ile 12 let through? The managers I demanded to speak to afterwards had a very debonair attitude to the issue I raised (same detached attitude as their colleagues on Ile 12) and I feel that faulty equipment, lack of interest and, frankly, incompetence make that airport UNSAFE. Their solution (and only engagement) was to gave me a card with an email address for "passengers to leave feedback otherwise we don't know what is wrong" (I am quoting the manager verbatim). Again REALLY? You do not know your equipment is faulty unless passengers leave feedback? Other lines were closed. If equipment at Ile 12 doesn't work properly should you open another line? And why there are only 2 people checking the huge amount of bags referred for additional checks when I could see staff literally watching them do it? I lead a team of 30 at my work and I don't have spare people to watch others do their job. Lots of blue shirts walking about, not many of them actually DOING something. The managers were, chiefly, only interested in making sure I deleted the video I made of the appalling service and attitude on the pretense that "it poses a security risk". I only deleted it because they threatened to call police if I didn't. Again, instead of taking an interest in the REAL security issue and the fact that this is also causing people to miss their flight (the reason they are there in the first place) the VIDEO was what they were interested in. Whilst they "supervised" me deleting the video from my gallery and recycle bin I had actually already sent it to my partner unaware it posed a security risk. I let them know in my feedback so I might get a response, given this is the only thing they cared about. The only positive today was the kindness of fellow passengers boarding a later flight, also waiting with many others for their bags to undergo further checks. They asked the security staff at Ile 12 to pick my bags before theirs as both my son and I were getting distressed at this point. Of course Ile 12 staff didn't as "they are not allowed to" apparently. What a DANGEROUS joke. Of course I am taking this further.

Flew out of this airport because cheap flights, and the airport was relatively easy to get to since the tube connects to Stansted Express which is a straight shot. Had to wait in line for Ryanair to get my documents checked and security was quick because I had Fast Track. Super fast there. The airport is pretty big, had to walk a bit to get to the gate. Not a lot of seating at the gates though. Good wifi, no outlets. Air didn't feel well-ventilated either.

On March 30, 2024, we had a scheduled flight from Stansted (STN) in UK to Olsztyn-Mazury (SZY) in Poland, flight FR 228, scheduled to depart at 17:45. We arrived at the airport around 15:00. We entered the security checkpoint shortly after 16:00. Although there were NOT many people in line but the line was moving extremely slow. The security staff was disorganized, slow, taking their time to inspecting each and every item, reading each label, talking, laughing with each other during the process. None of the staff cared about getting passengers in a timely manner to ensure that people were able to make their flights. The personal was extremely unprofessional, lacked courtesy for passengers. Around 17:00, my daughter's bag was the fifth one in line to be inspected, she begged people to let her go next. Passengers were under extreme pressure, stressed - one person vomited in the bin with staff watching in disgust, wasting more time, rather than assisting her. I cannot express the terror we experienced during this time. No matter how politely we begged to speed up the bag inspection process, the staff just looked at us and deliberately slowed down. After security, we ran through the maze of stores to the gate. It was 17:35, the gate was already closed. I could see the aircraft from the window for the next 20 minutes. After calming down, we tried to figure out the next step. We learned that our luggage was pulled off the aircraft and we needed to retrieve it from the arrival terminal. Ryanair knew that two passengers already checked in, the luggage was loaded but the gate was closed prior to the scheduled departure. We were told to go to Ryanair customer service, after explaining what happened the women just looked at us, didn't care. I graciously asked her to check for availability for the next flight. She looked at me like I was bothering her. After a few minutes, she stated that the next flight with two seats was scheduled to fly out three days later. I asked for a refund instead but she said there will be no refund and that if we decided to book the next flight, we would have to pay again as a new reservations. I asked if she was able to check other airports around London with flights to Poland the next morning and she refused to help, stating that Ryanair does not do that. Of note, there was other passengers talking to Ryanair customer service about the exact same situation. Someone suggested for us to try flights out of other airports. After learning that there was a flight from Luton airport via Wizzair the next morning, we decided to take multiple trains to Luton airport not knowing if there were seats available. We couldn't book this flight via our mobile phone because there was a problem with the network as our phones operates out of USA. That was our first time in London, we were not familiar with the train system, had difficulty with our phones but we took a chance and headed for Luton airport. Three hours later we arrived, met with a Wizzair staff member, who was able to get us on the next flight to Poland the following morning. The transportation cost from Stansted to Luton was 67 x 2 = 154 GBP. Our tickets from Luton to Poland via Wizzair were 730.98 GBP, together 884.98 GBP = $1,101.06 USD - an unplanned and unexpected cost that we had to pay as a result of the unfortunate circumstances with Stansted Airport and Ryanair. We spent the night in the airport. We asked Ryanair for reimbursement, they ignored us.

Horrible airport. How this gets away with claiming to be a London airport is beyond me. The only way to get there is by stupid train that cals itself and express but takes 50 (!!!) mins to get to London Liverpool Street and stops in every godforsaken hell hole on the way. It only runs every 30 mins so you're bound to miss it and add another 30 mins wait time to your journey on departure. On arrival the 30 mins come from the stupid queues to try and leave the platform because they have to check every person's ticket. Please go away Stansted, I hate you.

Getting to your gate at this train wreck of an airport is akin to the rock and roll mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap," and the memorable incident where the band is ready to go on stage and yet can't find their way, continually turning another corner, going through another door, to an endless series of more of the same... Welcome to Stansted Airport where to get to your gate you have to walk through and/or by literally hundreds of duty free shops, bars, make-up counters, juice bars, every chain you've ever heard of and those you soon will be sick of. I'm pretty sure there are folks still roaming around days later searching for their gate, lost in the maze of duty liquor and cosmetic shops. Dream of going to the Mall of America, the largest in the U.S. just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota? Don't bother, just grab a flight out of here and you'll be walking by more crap than MOA could dream of. Then you arrive at the main holding area where you aren't provided your gate until a few minutes before it's ready to board. It's horribly overcrowded at 2:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, you know, peak time. Proceed to sit on the most uncomfortable wooden seats imaginable. But wait, there's more: no plug-ins for your laptop or phones. Nada. Find a shop, they may have one. I did. But there is one up-side: the security people are just as sullen and unhappy as anywhere else you've been. That counts as a plus here. That said, it is clean, you can find the bathrooms and there's food and drink aplenty. It's just at some point this all seems like a place to grab your money with some airplane parking for that flight... you remember, right? You came here to get somewhere else. EDIT: five minutes after posting this from a "Joe & The Juice" chain restaurant (quite good, for sure) a crew from RyanAir walks through looking over their should and exit into daylight through a Fire Exit at back of the room. I have a name for that: "security breach."

Just so-so. The airport looks nice, but it was understaffed when we arrived and went through immigration. It took us more than an hour to get our luggage, and that seemed much too long of a period, not including the lines through immigration. On the positive side, it looks nice and must have had a recent refurbishment. The bathrooms were clean and plentiful. Bear in mind, this is a London airport, but it is a 90 min drive to central London when there is no traffic. We arrived in Central London at 4am, so traffic was minimal.

Of all the London Airports I think Stansted is the worst. No matter what time of the day security checks take so long. I do realise they are there for a reason but why does it take so long at this airport. Once through you have to go on the gauntlet walk through a never ending duty free area. Duty free that costs more than high street shops. This then takes you to the overpriced restaurants and inadequate seating. I realise that this airport is going through a transformation. Hopefully, for the better. One positive.....they now have free WiFi that actually works. It hasn't on our last few trips.

Why would you ever think of flying in or out through STN? Oh RyanAir eh? Well, you certainly get what you paid for by transferring through one of the worst airports ever. It's not necessarily the amenities and cleanliness that make this a bad airport. From the outside, it's a beautiful airport with restaurants, shops, and British people. Rather, it's the airport's whole "we're awesome" mentality that they try to push onto you through its confusing way-finding signage and ridiculous amount of duty free shops. THAT'S what makes it a terrible airport. Let me explain... First off, London security is ridiculous. STN is worst than LHR when it comes to properly bagging everything and going through security. Even when you think you are good, they'll find a way to beep your bags and cause you to wait an extra 20-30 minutes so that someone can "examine" your bags. People have missed their flights left and right because of security and its long lines and slow staff. It's easy to place blame on not properly removing all electronics and gels and placing them in clear ziplock bags, etc. However, when my friend's bag doesn't get stopped yet mine does FOR THE EXACT SAME REASON, then there is a problem. Change your rules... STN also primarily caters for flyers of low-cost carriers. If we're flying on cheap fares, what makes you think that we'd want to shop for your expensive, high end duty-free items that you make us walk through in order to even get to the gates? Then once you pass the duty free shops, it looks and feels like a bus station with a giant seating area but no real indication of where you're supposed to go next. Ridiculous! STN needs to reassess itself as an airport. I recommend anyone transiting here to give yourself at least 90 minutes even if you are an avid traveler because you NEVER know what could happen that'll cause you undue stress or worst- miss your flight. Good luck!

I absolutely hate this airport is all I can say. I travel full time and this is a horrible place. The food options are awful and the service in them is equally awful. It gets so much use because of low cost carriers it is always full so anyone with a bit of business sense or any airport manager with self respect would smarten this craphole up. I avoid it at all costs but in 4 months have been 3 times, awful experience in all

probably the worst airport i've ever been to, and i've been to Denver intentional (the dirtiest airport i've ever been to) more than once and LAX (which at the time, had a mandatory queue like just to leave the airport - after you've already gone through regular security). it's like the airport wasn't designed to have as much traffic as it gets, it's way too small for the amount of people passing through it. also for some reason, at least with ryanair specifically, the airline's online check in does not allow you to actually check in, and forces you to queue into a line to get your tickets at the airport. this would be fine, technically, if the service wasn't so slow and the lines weren't so long. it was pretty absurd. aside from that, their security line was HORRIBLE. i've travelled a lot with my spouse oversees and gone through plenty of international security lines, none were this busy or slow. and beside that, no one understands the concept of personal space, but the lines themselves don't allow you to have some space so that people aren't basically touching you or your luggage, something i was personally very uncomfortable with. inside the airport you're then forced to walk in a like of shops and eateries before you're allowed to reach the gate area. you're literally corralled into making a purchase based on this design, like they thought forcing customers to walk through the shop area will increase revenue - and hey it probably does. but it's still dumb and inconvenient. of course you also don't get your gate info until the last minute, and even then, ours was suddenly changed literally while we were in line to board at our original gate, and we had to walk to another one. also, the seats are always full and close together, and the only seating not stupidly full is downstairs on mostly metal, rusted benches where it's also cold because they're too cheap to heat the lower area? worst experience ever, if you can fly in or out of gatwick instead i suggest it over this.

Never thought I'd be reviewing an airport on yelp, but alas, my recent experiences with Stansted has left me no choice but to hate post. Long lines, mediocre service, and overall lack of reasoning regarding the planning and structure of this airport. I could go on but I don't want to waste too much of my energy

We took the Express train from London to Stansted Airport, and it took 45 minutes. When we arrived, we then had to walk through a windy corridor where there were stores and sales people everywhere - talk about forced shopping! It was a bit annoying because it was quiet a long walk with luggage through this shopping corridor. The food area itself was pretty good - there were good options of places to eat. The restrooms were very basic and need to be refreshed. Our Ryanair terminal was then a ten minute walk (based on their signs) from that eating area. Overall a mediocre Airport - without the shopping corridor I might rate it better.

God awful airport! There is no organization what so ever it's kinda impressive. Once you get past the LONG security process you have to walk through the most shameless duty free retail there is to offer. They really have the audacity to inform you of your gate one hour before your departure but they do final calls a half hour before you depart so good luck with all that. I had asked several staff members where my gate is and they all gave me different answers so I ended up missing my flight! I was polite through it all and I received nothing but awful service. I will NEVER fly through here again. I'd rather you slap my grandma with an everything bagel than to fly out of here again. One last thing: it's really inconvenient getting to here as well since it is so far out the way from London's city center. I can see why it's cheaper to fly out of here as it's a complete mess.

Thank you for your help!!! We were in big trouble, because we lost the sight of time. An incredible woman from the airport helped us and showed us a special, short way to our gate, so that we got our plane on time. @ The unknown girl: thank you so much! For us, you are the hero of the year god bless you!

I will not come back here unless I really have to. While it was a nice train ride from London to get here, once at the airport it is a complete chaos. Security checks were a joke because me and my 11 year old were randomly selected for the pat down after the metal detector (which is perfectly fine, I am all for safety) our bags were left unattended on the other side of the room with ton of people around them. I am lucky my husband saw what happened and grabbed our backpacks however bunch of other people that were selected with us were so nervous that their purses with all their money and documents were left unattended and they didn't have anyone with them to keep an eye on their stuff. When we finished I walked by huge pile of bags and purses that were just sitting there while their owners were across the room getting patted down. They do have a Priority Pass Escape Lounge and some stores, however walk to the gate is super long. Once we got to our gate they made us stand on the stairway for another 20 minutes, it got really hot so people started to take off their jackets and once they opened the door we found ourselves outside in the dark next to a plane, freezing waiting another 10 minutes to get on the plane. Sure glad we had priority boarding.

It's not a bad airport, not a great one, just an average one. Honestly, it seems more like an upscale shopping mall with an airport attached. Fortunately, the bus terminal is there, as well as other ways to disperse from this airport after arriving, because it's nowhere near downtown London. My wife and I were privileged to spend a night at Stansted, after missing our Ryanair flight, and got to know the place fairly well. A minor consolation was that the Burger King sells beer. Oh, and by gosh, you get free Wifi. For an hour, that is. My future plans will probably not include Stansted due to its remoteness from London and its affiliation with Ryanair, another entity which I will avoid in the future.

I actually like this airport better than Gatwick. If you take the cheap airlines like RyanAir, you'll find yourself here a lot. This airport is not as nice or as big as Heathrow, but between Gatwick and Luton for the cheap airlines, this one is my preference. Pros: - Easy to get to via Liverpool Station with the Stansted Express - it is expensive and will cost around £16 one way but if you know you will be returning you can buy a round trip ticket that is much cheaper. The trains are also nice and you have WiFi and plugs. - Duty-Free - Yes, you have to walk through all the duty free shopping to get to your gate but they have pretty decent selection of cosmetics and perfume if you're looking for Jo Malone, Harris Miller or other things. - Food - The food is half decent, and they have Leon, 2 Pret a Mangers, Joe and the Juice and Itsu if you're looking for something healthy and relatively inexpensive. Cons: - Expensive to get here, my train tickets are sometimes more than the flight itself but it's still not terrible. - Gate Assignments - The waiting area can be a cluster with a ton of people all standing by the screens waiting for their gates to be released at the last moment. It's really crowded and loud and there are not many places to sit and relax. - Lounge - The Exhale lounge is actually nice and has decent food but can get crowded and then they stop letting people in. - Security - The lines can be really long and they are not the nicest. If you know you'll be cutting it close or have a very early morning flight, buy a "Fast Track" on your Ryan Air flight for around 9€. All in all, still a decent airport for the cheap airlines and I prefer this to Luton or Gatwick. If you want a nicer airport, then fly to LHR but for the cost of the airplane tickets, this is not a bad option.

This is absolutely the worst travel experience I have had in a very long time. Getting through check-in and customs was okay but then -- be prepared to be shunted into a zig zag path through a brightly lit, sparkling/glittering perfume store which is the equivalent of the first floor of about 5 Macy's downtown SF with no signage to indicate that you are going the right way to find your departure gate. And THEN the path turns into a bottleneck -- and opens up into a big shopping mall with so much noise and additional obnoxious smells and flashing lights. The only seating is right in the middle of this noisy nonsense -- and they don't release gate assignments til 5 minutes prior to boarding to keep you (and your wallet) in the shopping mall area. It's a horrible abuse and I will avoid Stansted Airport at all costs in the future.

For an alternate airport it was surprisingly good Clean, plenty of stores and duty free And despite it all not very crowded True you had to carry your hand luggage up n down ramps to reach the aircraft but all in all pretty nice

When traveling, the flight was delayed ,which really irritated me.I was supposed to get to my destination around 12am but got there around 2pm.The staff did apologise but what annoyed me even more was this... When traveling back the flight got delayed again, once again they apologised .I don't know if there was a change in the person who runs the airport .I'm not trying to down grade the airport but I'm just saying that they should be in order and stick to their timetable.

Just accompanied a French friend fleeing Brexit uncertainty following two otherwise happy years working in the UK, so absolutely laden with luggage. Some 'expert' has just introduced a self-service baggage check-in, which is a total shambles. So many staff are needed to help passengers get past the machines that refuse to recognise boarding passes, they might just as well be sitting behind a traditional check-in desk. Once you have scanned your cabin baggage at a free-standing machine, you are then instructed to take it to two different areas (one member of staff told us it was because one case was considered 'heavy' or 'oversized', another said it was because one was a hard-sided case and the other a softer bag). The first of these desks was unstaffed, so we waited until a very rude woman walked up and told us we should be scanning the bag ourselves at the check in desk and that this procedure was 'obvious'. When I pointed out that it was obvious only to people who work at the airport, she became even more obnoxious. To be fair, the manager of the oversized baggage area was very apologetic when I complained about his employee's behaviour. By this time, we'd had to scan the same boarding pass no less than 5 times. I'd say, avoid this airport unless you are travelling with cabin bags only.

Returning to London was better on the Budapest side. Not great but better. There are no dedicated counters. They rotate and everything is posted on a big board. You won't know where to drop your luggage until 2 hours before your flight. Once the counter is designated, there is a huge line. Survive this to get to security. Without priority boarding the line is longer. And remember you now have less than two hours to get through security, pee, maybe eat, and go through customs. But you through customs until they tell you the gate. They don't tell you which gate until 39 minutes before your flight. As soon as the gate is posted you are in yet ANOTHER line to get your passport stamped. This must be to make you have a more pleasant day and feel appreciated as a customer. The gate was B17. Super confusing as that gate is behind glass and behind gates B15 and B18. Confused? Me too and no one made any announcements. NONE. There isn't enough room as these gates for lines either so everyone is stuffed in a small space hoping they are at the right gate. Did I mention earlier that you have to take stairs from the terminal down to the tarmac? No elevators anywhere. Primitive, backwards, the funny thing I thought this was bad until we got down to the tarmac and had to take a bus. Attila the Hun was our driver. First he decides to push people towards the middle to stuff more of us in while making grunting noises. Then he drives us around like we are on a roller coaster at Kiddyland. Mind you most of us are standing including kids and old people. Once we get to the plane, he won't open the doors or windows. When I thought I would just about pass out from a lack of oxygen he finally opens the door. Not one person said a word. I think we were all afraid Attila would suffocate us for protesting. Thankfully we did make it to the plane and we are in the air as I write this. Ryan air planes- Boeing 737-800. No wifi, no television, no seat pockets, no charging ports. It's BASIC. They do have great potato chips in the box and a lottery. But they don't tell you how you will find out whether or not you win. I'm not sticking around to find out.

This is the airport you will fly in/out of if you have the pleasure (facetiously) of flying RyanAir. Don't be fooled by the name of the airport, it's a good 45-50 minutes from London city center. The customs experience here is long and tedious if you are a non-EU citizen. Also, you do not get your luggage until after passing through customs so, in theory, anyone can walk away with your bag before you get to it. If you are headed into London, but tickets for the Stanstead Express-I think they were around 11 pounds each. It's a comfortable train ride and scenic. Security is stricter here, I found, than at other airports. I'd fly through here again, but just know to allow extra time for travel and customs.

Arrival into this airport was quick and easy, which is always a plus. There are currency exchange machines from which you can withdraw money but the rates are awful. You can purchase tickets for the bus service or train into the city at the terminal. It's also possible to get a UK SIM card at the M&S here. Departure, however, was a bit of a mess. It seems there's only one security screening area, which means everyone's herded into that crowd. They have plenty of machines, sure, but somehow the line is long anyway. When I was there, they kept running out of the trays to put your luggage in, so we'd have to wait for that to come through, which only ate up more time. I honestly haven't waited that long in line in a while just to get through security screening. Also, if you get there too early, be warned that you might not know what gate from which your flight is leaving for a while - I think you have to wait until 60 minutes (or was it 30 minutes?) before your flight to find out.

This airport is probably the worse experience I had during my visit of UK. It's feels totally without order. Planes times are not updated on the flight-time screens and what's worse is the security check; totally chaos! My flight time was at 6:50 and we got out of the security check at 6:20, ran to the gate to find that the plane haven't even arrived at the destined gate....

Believe it or not, I've always viewed the airport terminal as a place of freedom and hope; the final breath of fresh air before being locked into a metal tube for 2, 6, or 14 hours. Stansted ruined that. Thanks to Stansted, I now dread going to the airport. If Stansted airport was a low-cost carrier, it would be called Ryanair. Like Ryanair, this airport appears to be designed to make you as miserable as possible, to cram as many individuals into a box as possible. And just how do they pull off such an incredible feat? Narrow walkways and mazes. And probably a bit of forced perspective; there is no way there's as many people as the mind perceives because it feels as though all 20 million of Stansted's annual passenger traffic was in one room at the same time. It starts the moment you walk in the door. The chaos of the check-in desk. Thousands of people all stupefied by the same thing: each other. TOP TIP: Remember the five 5 D's of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive, and...dodge. This is essential to your survival. Then you make it to security. Security is the last opportunity you'll have to enjoy personal space and structure in your life, so take a moment and respect the orderliness of it all and prepare yourself. Think of it as purgatory preceding your inevitable descent into Hell. You exit security into a long, narrow, sparkling, snaking walkway. Very narrow. Flanked on both sides by duty-free shops. Maybe you would like to shop if you had some personal space or room to navigate, but you don't; this river of mindless bodies is studded with boulders and class five rapids. You might think at some point you'll enter the large expansive of the departure hall, like the old, pre-construction Stansted (which was still miserable). Nah. They've managed to shrink the usable area of this massive building by adding more opportunities to make money. Bars occupy what might have made a nice location for a bank of chairs or another departure gate screen. Nah. I'm convinced the entire redesign deliberately leads to this point. You've only just started your holiday and you're already burned out. You need a drink. How convenient! We've put a bar right here! Right in the middle of the open space! It's a circle! So inventive, right? Come now, give us your holiday funds for an overpriced beer. The entire place is scam. It's so clear now (and genius, I might add.) If you can resist, keep walking towards the tram to the outer gates. Around here to the left, you'll see a nice area with windows and considerably fewer people. If you don't mind sitting on the floor, or standing, there's some fresh air to be had, and nice big windows to remind you of the outside. And no, I will not cut them any slack for construction when the design is so clearly flawed, and so clearly intended to lighten my wallet. They should be ashamed. There is, however, one small advantage for us Americans on the return leg: the passport check. We recently arrived to yet another 20 million passengers, all crammed--literally crammed--into the tram from the outer terminal and dumped off at border control. Thankfully, 95% percent of the passengers are EU citizens. Enjoy the mile-long line, guys. We were through the "other passports" line in five minutes. 'Merica. In summary, avoid this place if at all possible. I know it probably isn't possible, but even Luton is a better choice.

I love England, but the flood of people during the Rugby World Cup wasn´t handled at all. At least six customs clearance belts before the body search were empty, but there were six long queues. I departed from that airport for the second time and I always got to the gate just after it was closed. A bit of modernization would do that airport good. Miluji Anglii, ale nával během MS v rugby Stansted absolutně nezvládá. Minimálně šest odbavovacích pásů před osobní prohlídkou bylo volných a fronty se kroutily v šesti hadech. Z tohoto letiště jsem odlétala podruhé a vždycky dobíhala těsně po uzavření gatu. Možná by troška modernizace vůbec nebolela.

Stansted is a great, clean airport. Its a little out of the way so you should consider travel from Standsted to London as part of your cost. The Standsted Express is 17£ per person. For 2 ppl its £34 round trip x2. So, just beware of extra cost when traveling. May be cheaper to fly directly to Heathrow instead. The Express train is only 45mins whereas the van coaches are 1.20hrs. The customs lines are always long though. They always have several UK lines open but only 1-2other agents for all other passports.

1 hour away from London. There is a bus for 17 euro can take you to the city. WiFi is not that good . Could not find good cafe to get food or coffee.

Stansted is one of the worst airports in the UK, they have been constantly building for years now and still haven't finished. The trains between terminals have a habit of breaking down and the wifi is appalling. There are now more restaurants which is good as it's the only place you will get to sit down. Hopefully one day in the future they will finish the airport and it will at last offer what other UK airports offer. They have also moved the hire cars out of the airport so make sure you add 30 minutes to your travel time.

Not my favorite. The airport's design is interesting, but not convenient. After passing through security, instead of walking through straight terminals, you'll navigate through a winding indoor path through stores and restaurants. In theory, this could provide a more interesting experience than your typical airport. But first, the path is too narrow for all the people - it's as if the designers had no clue that everyone would want flock to an airport offering cheap flights. Secondly, the flight gates are entirely separate, and accessible only via a train after all of the shops. Once you get to the flight gates, all you get is a single convenience store, restrooms, and water fountains. No water bottle filling station anywhere. We flew Primera, and had to wait in line for about 45 minutes. Since the airline requires you to see an agent within 60 minutes of your flight (can't check-in online), I'd recommend accounting for extra time. With that said, the agents were letting people on earlier flights skip the line.

It used to be brilliant. 15 years ago. When nobody used it...and the parking was free (let them settle in for a moment, free parking...) Now...meh, it's 100% better than Luton...but honestly, if Europe is your destination...head to St Pancras and take the train rather than the total bunfight that this place is between 6-8am. Third star for the nostalgia of a quiet, peaceful and pleasant terminus...no longer.

Look, it's an airport - primarily for the domestic and lowcost airlines like the craptastic Ryanair. I've not had any major issues with this airport. The distance from check-in to your actual departing plane is a trek - always! Everything is crammed in here and gives you a feeling like you just can't get any elbow room walking around departures. That said, I haven't YET encountered any mindblowing issues with this facility. I said YET!

Love the little airports sometimes. And this is one of the sometimes. Better places to get real food than many other smaller airports. Comfortable lounge areas. I felt safe and comfortable between flights. Good wifi. Postage kiosks for the pesky last minute postcard drop. Boots travel products & decent mini shops.

This place is hell on earth. Really no worse airport in the world. Yes the wifi is free but you not only have to accept t&cs but also to get spam from their sponsor. Gates 51-59 literally are design inspired by the gated lanes they herd cattle through before rodeos. Everything is Ryanair run, so expect Ryanair service or worse. Go Gatwick or Heathrow if you can. You can still save yourself. There's no hope for me now

Stansted Airport is known as a London Airport. Strictly speaking, I'm not totally sure it's in London. But then again, 'I'm not totally sure' isn't exactly strict speaking. This airport is pretty small (at least compared to bigger ones, but is actually bigger than far smaller ones) but it packs a lot into it. If you're waiting for someone to arrive you have a Costa, a Ponti's, a Smoothie Place, Two WHsmiths, a record shop, a betting shop (jeez, it's better than a shopping centre) and a whole lot of other places. If you're departing; it has a Starbucks, a Franky & Benny's, a cheap pub - it even has airplanes. My experience leaving their has always been wonderful. My returning has always been less though, although mainly because of the realisation that I won't be laying on a beach, or if I will I'll be getting frostbite. They run shuttle buses through two different companies here which means that you can get back into London pretty quickly, and they also have a train too which isn't too expensive (from what I can remember). The best thing about Stansted is how it's open twenty four hours, and is probably my most fun place to go to at 4am for a tea. Although, it's a slightly retarded thing to do when you realise that tea will actually cost you £24 due to parking.

I fly from Stansted Airport about 4 times a year as It's the closest airport to me and it's the only airport in London where I can get a flight directly to where my parents live in Ireland, well not directly to their house although that would be cool but to the nearest airport to them which is Kerry. I like stansted because it's such a big airport and I love big spaces. They have a great duty free section which I always try and spend a fair amount of time checking out. Spraying various scents on myself so by the time I get to my parents i end up smelling like a whores handbag. They have a sign stating that it takes 10 minutes to walk from the main terminal to the departure gates which I find good as I hate waiting at the departure gates or too long.

After check in (which took over an hour), and security (which took under a minute), I enjoyed a long, i.e. 10-15 minute walk through a shopping mall. This walk is required to get to your gate. So, imagine you are running late for your flight and are then required to hustle past seemingly unending shopping kiosks before even getting to your gate. I mean it's nice that Oban whisky and Pret A Manger are making a few dollars, but the Stansted planners seem to think it acceptable that a few dozen people a year miss their flights for this reason. That seems a little shitty to me. On the plus side, the international terminal bathrooms are futuristic.

When the new terminal opened in 1991, Sir Norman Foster's intention was to provide a roof that 'floated' above the passengers, with no ugly pipes or ducting, and which provided a spacious and clear view from the departure hall right through to the aircraft, all on the level. Alas. The building is still impressive, but ruined now by the BAA's desire to milk every inch of its airports for commercial use, and the doubling of passengers using the airport. The former has transformed Foster's clear space into a crowded obstacle course of tacky chain shops, and the latter has resulted in long queues (sometimes very long). There are now three bording piers, two accessed by a people-mover, which are less crowded. On a recent arrival, it took over 15 minutes just to get through passport control. Plenty of shops, though. The other downside to Standsted is its distance from London: the dedicated train service drops you at Liverpool Street station in the City, rather than the West End, although by changing at Tottenham Hale you can access the Victoria underground line. But either way, it takes an hour or more (though fine if you live in the East End or Essex). Getting to Heathrow or Gatwick (or even Luton) from central London feels that much easier, somehow. (Nice scenery on the journey there, though).