London Stansted today published its long-term plan for sustainable growth over the next 20 years.
Latest forecasts are that the airport could handle between 48-51 million passengers a year in the 2040s.
The draft Sustainable Development Plan (SDP) outlines how the airport intends to make best use of its existing single runway and what it will do to continue maximising the benefits and managing the impact of the airport’s operation for local communities. This includes:
- How passenger travel to and from the airport will evolve in the years ahead and how the airport will mitigate any impact of this, ensuring half of all journeys are by public transport.
- The extent of the airport’s economic contribution and how this will grow as Stansted’s number of passengers and destinations grow, involving 16,300 good quality jobs for local people.
- Infrastructure and access improvements, including further work to M11 Junction 8 and funds for local bus services, local roads and sustainable transport developments.
- Increased support for the Stansted Airport College offering more places to students to grow their careers in aviation, helping to meet industry skills shortages in engineering and hospitality.
The airport is committing to welcome this higher number of passengers without an increase in the existing number of permitted flights and to do so within the existing airport boundary. Increased passenger numbers will come from airlines planning to use larger models of modern, efficient aircraft than previously forecast. This will enable more people to fly on each plane, and the airport to welcome more passengers while keeping permitted levels of aircraft arrivals and departures the same.
This new plan comes after London Stansted recently announced a five-year £1.1bn investment programme that will deliver wide-ranging benefits to passengers and help secure links to even more global destinations. The centrepiece of the transformation is a £600m extension to the airport’s existing terminal, which will create a bright spacious environment, with more seating areas plus new shops, bars and restaurants to give travellers even more choice than they have today.