The overall rating of a review is different from a simple average of all individual ratings.
Advantages:
lots of shops, open until about 2am i think, for travellers and those who await others, great duty free, laid back easy to navigate airport
Disadvantages:
lack of toilet facilities, recent safety scares, duplicate shops in and outside duty free
Hi I'm back and raring to write on Ciao after a 3 month exam break, all of which I PASSED Yippee!! A...
Hi I'm back and raring to write on Ciao after a 3 month exam break, all of which I PASSED Yippee!! All the work was worth it so now for a summer of sun (?), fun and Ciao ;-)
Member since:13.09.2000
Reviews:115
Members who trust:26
I flew through London Stansted last summer, to Lamezia South Italy with Ryanair (see my previous opinion), and I was very impressed with the airport. I didn't quite know what to expect with the airport or with flying, and I wasn't expecting the airport to be so well equipped with everything a traveller would need!
The airport is a large airy and high-roofed structure consisting of glass panels allowing lots of light in. The place is therefore well lit and spacey and I did not feel so claustrophobic although the place was packed! It is a pleasant building. Stansted is in Essex, but it is easy to reach: the rail-link runs to Stansted station, and it is easily accessible from the motorways, being well signposted, and the airport has ample parking facilities. What impressed me most was that a shuttle bus runs to the airport from London every 15 minutes, so if you want to travel via public transport such as coach or rail from anywhere else in the country it could often be easier and quicker
to travel via London using the shuttle bus.
As you enter through the main entrance of Stansted you immediately encounter the check-in desks. This is great in my opinion as you can quickly find your desk, check in and then browse the shops in the airport before boarding. I had somehow envisaged myself roaming the airport looking for some dark corner where Ryanair operated all of its flights, but there was a different desk for each flight all so nearby! The desks are occupied by different airlines, and they are clearly marked so with the airline's logo, and the desk numbers are clearly visible. The desks are in rows parallel to one another. It is at these desks you deposit your luggage and get further details about boarding the flight.
From here you can wander back into the airport. You don't go far before you reach the passport control gate - there is one for EU passports and EU destinations, and one for non-EU passports and destinations. But before these there are shops scattered everywhere that can cater for travellers: bookshops (which thank God sold Italian phrase books amongst many other languages!), snack bars, food chains such as Burger King, Boots the chemist (travel sickness medication, perhaps?), bars (to kill those nerves), music shops, Cadburys chocolate store (very impressive), coffee shops such as Ritazza, and a Bureau de Change (is there anyone dumber than myself who would go to an airport without any currency for the country you're travelling to?!). The shops cater for people waiting for travellers to return too, like the food chains. I must say however that the toilet facilities on this side of the gate were pathetic - one ladies toilet in a tiny building in the airport near the boarding gate, that was so tiny that if the queue was more than 5 people long it spilled out of the door! I think Stansted can do better than that!
As you peek through the boarding gate barriers you cannot fail to see the gold that lies on the other side - in Duty Free! HUGE stores that are well spaced out, and lots of restauarnts, coffee shops and even an internet cafe! In fact some of the stores were replicas of the stores outside in the main airport, such as Boots. I was quite shocked about this, finding the same stores selling duty free! A first time traveller like myself could buy food and other items outside (which I did do) and then not realise the savings that could be had inside! So my warning is not to buy a THING until you get into Duty Free. If youre as unknowledgeable a traveller as I was, Duty free comes AFTER you have checked in and passed through the boarding gate. The savings that you could make in the shops, on books, perfumes, sports clothes and sunglasses for example are quite impressive. I would recommend taking advantage of them!
Once you have tired of duty free and you want to make your way to your flight, you will have to find the platform where you will wait for your shuttle train. Stansted is so large and there are so many gates from which the aeroplanes depart I didnt realise you would need a train to get to them! There are almost 100 different gates! Instructions on which part of the platform to wait for which gates, and the time of the next train is shown on the platform above several sets of double doors which open when the train arrives. The trains are quick and are standing only- no seats - although there are lots of handles to hold in order to stay standing! You are told clearly and repeatedly for which gates are each stop. Once you have unboarded you take some escalators and roam the halls until you find your gate.
Check in at my gate was delayed and opened only when the flight was supposed to take off! However noone told me and I was worried I was at the wrong gate and I kept looking around and checking. Seating is provided at the gates, overlooking the runways and your plane. One thing that reassured me is that I heard announcements for passengers who had booked in and handed over their luggage yet not made it to their gates yet. They held the flights until they found them, so I thought if I WAS at the wrong gate then I would be called for in due time.
Once checked in you head for the plane. This involves following weaving tunnels until you go down the last tunnel - aretractable ne that is attached to the building. You can see them along other gates, they'relike arms!! Ours was as close to the plane as possible, which I appreciated as it was raining heavily.
All in all I have to say the airport gave a good start to an excellent experience, as I had forgotten things such as currency and travel bokos (well I WAS going to an english speaking family who were paying me for teaching their kids english after all). Duty frees a dream too. The airport also has special facilities for disabled people, and I was impressed when people in wheelchairs were boarded in a special boarding "crane" at the side of the plane. It is good that they give handicapped and disabled people such good services as a wheelchair would not be able to navigate the airport at all. I was somewhat alarmed however at a recent report that a journalist had not only managed to get through customs at the passport gate with a gun in his bag but another journalist had managed to infiltrate the pilots mess and get aboard a plane with fake ID as a PILOT! These things were blamed on low motivation of staff, but I think much stricter precautions will be carried out now!
And however great the airport, it was better when we were in the air and heading for the sub-tropical climate of South Italy!
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superb review, I just been to stanstead airport this month and am most please with it, very efficient and well organised and the long stay car parking is great! thank you, very useful review!
linda01865 12.03.2001 20:51
I have never been to this airport and had always thought of it as very small, you have opened my eyes to the fact that it is not. An excellent opinion thank you. p.s. baby in my profile is our latest grandson born in november 2000.
Saltire 11.03.2001 12:26
Very helpful, I'm flying to Stansted in a fortnight! How much does the shuttle bus to London cost? I'd be very interested for future reference :-) Cheers, G.
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