Stansted posts record high May passenger numbers

Image courtesy MAG

The monthly total beat the previous high for May set last year by more than 123,000 passengers, an increase of 4.5%. 

Stansted, which offers more scheduled services to Europe than any other UK airport, saw 1m passengers pass through the terminal during the school holiday period, with more than 102,500 passengers using the airport on May 29, the busiest day of the year so far.

In total, daily passenger numbers topped 100,000 on five separate days in May.

The top individual destinations across the half-term week were Istanbul, Dublin and Palma de Mallorca, with the most popular countries visited being Spain, Italy and Turkey. 

Alongside families heading off for spring sunshine and city breaks, and strong inbound demand from overseas visitors to the UK, football supporters travelling to back their teams in European cup finals also boosted passenger numbers.

Aston Villa fans took advantage of the frequent services to Istanbul to see their team triumph in the Europa league, while Crystal Palace fans boarded flights to various destinations in Germany, including Berlin or Nuremburg, to see the team lift the cup in the Conference League final in Leipzig.

At the end of the month, Arsenal fans headed to Budapest for the UEFA Champions League final, packing out direct flights to the Hungarian capital as well as taking more creative routes via destinations such as Vienna in Austria, and Bratislava and Kosice in Slovakia to see their team just fall short against champions PSG.

Stansted’s rolling total for the 12-months ending May 2026 reached 30.22m, an increase of 0.9% on the previous year.  

Gareth Powell, London Stansted’s Managing Director, said: “London Stansted’s fantastic range of destinations along with the reliable and efficient airport operation we continue to provide enabled us to once again welcome a record number of passengers during May.

“The record-breaking month was boosted by a really busy half-term week as hundreds of thousands of Brits headed off on holiday or visited family and friends abroad, while we also saw huge numbers of overseas visitors choosing the airport as their gateway to London and the East of England. 

“We also welcome thousands of football fans during May as supporters took advantage of the excellent choice and convenience our extensive European routes network offers to follow their teams to finals in Turkey, Germany and Hungary. 

“We expect demand to remain strong in the run up to the main summer holiday season, so all the operational teams across the airport will be working hard to deliver a great service and the best possible experience for our passengers.”

London Stansted Airport served 30 million passengers in 2025, making it the third busiest airport in London and the fourth busiest in the UK.