Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide

Aerospace

Stansted reports record-breaking February

The half-term school holidays helped London Stansted report its busiest ever February as families and holidaymakers took to the skies in record numbers.

Image courtesy MAG

More than 2.01 million passengers passed through the terminal during February, an increase of 48% on last year, and 91,000 passengers more than the previous monthly record set in 2024.

The number of passengers using London Stansted in the 12-months to the end of February stands at 29.77 million, an increase of 5.2% on the previous year.

Advertisement
ODU RT

Nearly 830,000 passengers travelled through Stansted during the half-term week alone, as families from across London and the East of England headed away for some winter sun, hit the ski slopes or visited friends and family.

Demand during the period also remained high from overseas visitors looking for affordable and convenient access to the UK, and London in particular, thanks to the airport’s extensive European route network.

The most popular destinations for winter sun-seekers included the Canary Islands, Southern Spain, Turkey and Dubai, while the top choices for those heading to the slopes were Geneva, Chambery, Grenoble, Turin, Innsbruck and Zurich.

Short city breaks were also in high demand with Dublin, Edinburgh and Istanbul the most popular.

Operational performance during the month remained strong, with more than 98% of passengers passing safely through security in 15 minutes or less.

Advertisement
ODU RT

Ciaran Brannigan, London Stansted’s Commercial Director, said: "February was yet another strong month at London Stansted, with a very busy half-term holiday week boosting demand that saw the airport welcome over two million passengers during the month of February for the first time in our history.

“The great value, choice and ease of access on offer at the airport continues to attract passengers in record numbers, and we don’t expect to see any let up in demand as we push ever closer to breaking through the 30 million passengers a year milestone at London Stansted.

“The summer flying schedule will begin at the end of the month, bringing even more choice of destinations for local people to plan their trips abroad, particularly for those looking to head off over the Easter holidays next month.

“And our extensive and growing route network will also provide more opportunities for us to welcome thousands more visitors from across Europe and beyond who are attracted to the great choice of inbound flights and simplicity of using London Stansted as they heading into London or sampling the delights of the East of England in the coming weeks and months.”

Advertisement
FIA2026 animated banner
Aston University secures £3.9m to boost aerospace and cybersecurity skills

Aerospace Security

Aston University secures £3.9m to boost aerospace and cybersecurity skills

10 June 2026

Aston University has secured almost £4 million in new funding to improve the UK’s aerospace engineering and cybersecurity skills.

Marshall Aerospace completes initial flight model for Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X7

Aerospace

Marshall Aerospace completes initial flight model for Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X7

10 June 2026

Marshall Aerospace has successfully completed a flight dynamics and control model to support Horizon Aircraft’s Cavorite X7, a revolutionary dual-use hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft currently in prototype development.

NATS invests in carbon removals with CUR8

Aerospace

NATS invests in carbon removals with CUR8

9 June 2026

NATS has committed £500k to carbon removals through carbon removals intelligence provider CUR8, contributing to an initiative led by the UK Sustainable Aviation coalition, to stimulate the carbon removals market as part of a £2 million Advance Market Signal.

HutanBio partners with Wakud on scalable SAF feedstocks

Aerospace

HutanBio partners with Wakud on scalable SAF feedstocks

9 June 2026

Cambridge biotechnology company HutanBio, which is developing algae-derived oils for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), has signed its first commercial offtake Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman's Wakud International, as the aviation industry searches for new feedstock sources capable of supporting future SAF demand.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Tekever and Sapient Perception to explore airborne ISR sensing integration

Aerospace Security Space

Tekever and Sapient Perception to explore airborne ISR sensing integration

9 June 2026

Tekever and Sapient Perception have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the integration and evaluation of Sapient Perception’s 10K camera system on Tekever uncrewed aerial systems.

Barrow school to launch technical education pathway

Aerospace Defence

Barrow school to launch technical education pathway

8 June 2026

Walney School in Barrow-in-Furness is going to be introducing an innovative employer-led technical education pathway in September, which aims to equip young people with the skills for high-quality careers and to help local employers tackle skills shortages.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Advertisement
General Atomics LB