Category Archives: Stansted airport

Liquid restrictions at UK airports to remain in place until June 2025

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Travellers will have to wait another year for 100ml limit to be lifted after government extends deadline for new scanners

Holidaymakers will continue to face limits on the amount of liquid they can carry on flights out of the UK this summer after the government extended the deadline for airports to install new security scanners by a year.

The Department for Transport had previously set a target for the introduction of 3D scanners in all UK airports by 1 June, but this has now been extended by 12 months because some major airports will not be ready in time.

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Armed police surround plane at Stansted airport after security alert

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Unconfirmed reports say flight from Nairobi, which was diverted from Heathrow to Stansted, was intercepted by RAF fighters

Armed police have surrounded a Kenyan Airways flight at London Stansted airport after a security alert.

The Boeing 787 from Nairobi was due to arrive at Heathrow this afternoon but was diverted to Stansted in Essex 45 minutes before its expected arrival.

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Air passengers face further delays after UK air traffic control failure

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Transport minister rules out cyber-attack after hundreds of flights to and from the UK cancelled

Flight passengers will be affected by UK air traffic control failures for days, the transport secretary has warned as he urged airlines to step up and fulfil their responsibilities to passengers.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mark Harper said National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which provides the air traffic control systems in the UK, had apologised for the disruption, adding: “I’d like to add my apology to that.”

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Issue with UK air traffic control system ‘identified and remedied’ but thousands still face major delays after fault – as it happened

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National air traffic services say they have fixed the issue that has caused a network-wide failure but significant flights backlog remains

Here are some photos from Heathrow airport after a network failure caused issues with UK air traffic control, leading to major delays.

The Liberal Democrats have said the prime minister should call a Cobra meeting after a technical fault hit air traffic control in the UK.

Rishi Sunak and his ministers need to get a grip on this issue urgently and hold a Cobra meeting.

Millions of holidaymakers could be facing huge disruption in the coming days due to this fault and we can’t risk this government being missing in action yet again.

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Travellers faced long queues at major UK airports after electronic passport gates failed

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Hours-long delays were reported as IT problems also caused disruption on Dover-Calais ferries

Passengers arriving at major airports in the UK at the start of the bank holiday weekend faced long delays after problems with electronic passport gates.

Travellers expressed their anger on social media over queues of several hours at a number of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick as arrivals had their passports checked by hand instead of the automated machines.

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Counter-terror arrests at Stansted after fighter jets intercept airliner

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Pair from Kuwait and Italy arrived on flight from Vienna on Sunday

Counter-terrorism police have said they detained two men at Stansted airport.

A 34-year-old from Kuwait and a 48-year-old from Italy were detained by counter-terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit soon after 7pm on Sunday, the unit said in a statement.

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‘I have to work’: arrivals from Spain vent anger at quarantine decision

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People arriving in Stansted tell of their surprise at having to now self-isolate for two weeks

People flying into Britain from Spain have attacked the government’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on people returning from the country, saying they were given no warning and that they felt safer in Spain.

As flights from Jerez, Alicante, Valencia and Palma landed in quick succession on Sunday afternoon at Stansted airport, passengers found themselves faced with the realisation that they were about to enter into an unexpected period of self-isolation.

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Stansted reopens after aborted takeoff closed runway

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Passengers describe ‘huge bang’ followed by evacuation of Vienna-bound flight

Flights were temporarily suspended at Stansted airport after an aborted takeoff by a Vienna-bound plane on Friday evening.

A spokesman for the Essex airport said the incident had happened shortly after 8pm and that all passengers had been safely evacuated. The runway was reopened around three hours later.

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Stansted 15 ordered back to court on aggravated trespass charge

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Activists’ lawyer says notice has caused the group ‘great anxiety and distress’

Activists known as the Stansted 15 who were convicted under a terrorism-related law for chaining themselves around an immigration removal flight at Stansted airport have been ordered back to court over the same incident in a move they have described as “cruel and vindictive”.

Earlier this month the activists received suspended sentences or community orders after they were convicted of endangering the safety of an aerodrome following a 10-week trial. The offence carries a potential life sentence.

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Stansted 15 activist: ‘Jail separation from my baby would be horrific’

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Emma Hughes tells of her fears as group await sentence for halting deportation flight

One of the 15 activists convicted of a terrorism offence for blocking the takeoff of a deportation charter flight from Stansted has spoken of her anguish before the group’s sentencing this week, saying she fears a “horrific” separation from her newborn son.

The Stansted 15, who were convicted at Chelmsford crown court in December of endangering the safety of an aerodrome, hope they will be given non-custodial sentences, though the offence carries a maximum of life imprisonment. Their convictions under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, were condemned as a “crushing blow for human rights” by Amnesty International. Their lawyers have lodged an appeal.

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