Four new aircraft parking stands have become available at Stansted as the airport completes of the first phase of airfield works as part of a £600 million upgrade.
The stand extension is the size of four premiership football pitches and boosts the airport’s ability to handle more aircraft during peak hours.
Phase two of the project is underway and includes new taxiways, additional aircraft holding areas and a further 20 new aircraft stands.
Stansted transformation project programme delivery director, Paul Willis, said: “This is the first step in an extensive programme of works to our airfield at London Stansted, which includes new taxiways, additional aircraft holding areas as well as the new aircraft stands.
“It is always a challenge undertaking large scale construction programmes in a 24/7 live environment, however, our principal contractor Volker Fitzpatrick and our team here at Stansted have provided an excellent standard of build and project management.
“London Stansted is the only major airport in the south-east that has potential to grow in line with the government’s aviation strategy of optimising existing runway capacity.
“These new stands will provide extra capacity for aircraft to park, unlocking spare capacity and improving operations from the airport’s single runway.”
Other plans include a new arrivals terminal and the reconfiguration of the existing terminal into a departures only facility.
It also features a revamped retail and restaurant offering as well as new car parks and airfield infrastructure.