Stansted Airport History
Stansted Airport was constructed by the United States Army in 1942 as a bomber base. By 1944, over 600 aircraft were stationed there and the base played a major role in the Battle of Normandy.
After the war, the base was not needed and it was transferred to the Air Ministry in 1947. The US military returned in 1954 to extend the runway for a possible transfer to NATO, but this did not happen and Stansted ended up in the hands of British Airports Authory (BAA), a nationalised company, in 1966.
Initially, the airport was used by holiday charter airlines wanting to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick. From the outset, however, BAA and the government planned to develop Stansted into London's third airport, to relieve congestion at Heathrow and Gatwick.
Stansted's first terminal building opened in 1969 and was expanded the next year to handle the growing number of passengers.
In 1984, the government approved a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year. Construction of the current terminal building began in 1986 and was completed in 1991.
Plans were published last year for the addition of another runway and extended terminal. If the Uttlesford district council approves the current plan, Stansted is to get a second parallel runway which should allow the airport to increase its capacity from 22 million in 2005 to 74 million by 2030 (compared to 67.7m at Heathrow in 2005).
Terminal
Stansted Airport has one terminal. The terminal building was designed by Sir Norman Foster and features a 'floating' roof, supported by a space frame of inverted-pyramid roof trusses. The base of each truss structure is a 'utility pillar', which provides indirect uplighting illumination and is the location for air-conditioning and water, telecommunications, and electrical outlets.
The layout of the airport is designed to provide an unobstructed flow for passengers to arrive at the short-stay airport parking, move through the check-in hall and on to the departure gates all on the same level.
Key dates in Stansted Airport's History
AD 100-200: Roman burial site.
1942: The runway was built by USAAF.
1944: D-Day, Bombers from Stansted led more than 600 aircraft over the beaches of France.
1966: Newly-created British Airports Authority took control.
1970: The new terminal was extended to handle increasing numbers of passengers.
1978: The Government White Paper 'Airport Policy' proposed major expansion of Stansted.
1980: British Airport Authority submitted planning application to Uttlesford District Council to develop the airport.
1985: Following a public enquiry lasting 258 days, the Government gives permission for development to about 15 million passengers a year (mppa). An early motion by 75 MPs led to a compromise of phased development to 8 and then 15 million passengers with a cap on the number of take-offs and landings by passenger aircraft.
April 1986: work started on the new airport.
March 1991: The Queen opened the £400 million new terminal, aprons and taxiways at Stansted, which increased the airport's capacity from two mppa to eight million.
June 1999: permission was granted to go to Phase 2.
July 1999: Parliament raises Passenger Air Transport Movement (PATM) cap to 185,000 a year.
January 2000: work on Phase 2 commences and public consultation begins on expansion to about 25 million passengers a year.
July 2002: Government's South East and East of England Regional Air Services study includes Stansted in the future of aviation in the south-east over the next 30 years.
September 2002: planning permission granted by Uttlesford District council to expand to 25 million passengers a year.
December 2003: Government White Paper on the Future of Aviation in the UK picks Stansted as the preferred choice for an additional runway in the South East and major expansion ahead of Heathrow and Gatwick.
October 2005: BAA announces that it would like to increase use of the current single runway to expand to 35 million passengers a year. Draft consultation document on site for a second runway and expanded terminal released.
