Stansted Airport History

Stansted International Airport

The first builders at Stansted knew a good site when they saw one. No aircraft noise, no environmental lobby and no planning regulations.
Stansted Airport started life the same way as the other UK airports. During the Second World War Stansted Airport was used as a Military base, the airport was used as an American Bomber base during the War.
A major role was played by using most UK airports, but planes from Stansted were amongst the first over the beaches to support the D-Day Landings. Stantsed airport was left to deteriorate after the War, until its future was reshaped by a government decision. It was earmarked as London's third airport, and only in the last 6 - 7 years it has been turned into one of the busiest Airports in Europe. Stansted now employs
180,000 people and creating a further 370,000 jobs.

There were many protests over the years ( Even today 2004 protesters don't want a new runway built) but in the early days the government gave in and decided to find another site this was at Maplin Sands in the River Thames estuary, but that was about to change because In 1979
after one of the longest Public Inquiry's on record the go-ahead finally came. After a world oil crisis and hard economic times , the British Airports Authority, anticipating better times ahead, revived the idea of major growth at Stansted airport and in 1979 the decision was made to build London's third Airport, but the go ahead did not start until 1985 with initial approval for Stansted airport to handle up to 8 million passengers a year.

 

In 1991 a new and widely acclaimed terminal was opened but that is now under pressure as Stansted became the fastest growing
London airport. The modern Stansted may be expanding but one piece of the airport will not change. A unique wildlife area for plants and animals has been created in the shadow of the big jets and those Iron Age villagers who started it all would, no doubt, have approved.
Today Protesters are fighting, posters and banners of protest flutter outside the cottages on the approach to the hamlet of Bamber's Green, a mile and a half from the airport, to stop the building of a new runway even all these years later..

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