Whether you’re just jetting off for a short weekend break or planning a long holiday, these packing tips for savvy travellers will not only help you to be more organised but will also help you guard against some of the potential misfortunes often encountered when flying.

Use plastic bags – It helps to pack as much of your stuff into plastic bags as you can. It not only protects the rest of your luggage from any possible toiletry leaks, but also makes it much easier to find what you’re looking for when you unpack. Pack similar items together in bags, e.g. underwear, toiletries, nightwear. You can then use the empty bags for dirty laundry, rubbish, etc. Another bonus is that if security asks you to unpack your suitcase at the airport it’s a bit more organised and discrete to take it out in bags.

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Over the bank holiday weekend, passengers at Stansted Airport were subjected to queues of up to two hours. It wasn’t just disgruntled travellers that were unhappy either, a spokesman for the airport deemed the wait “unacceptably long” too.

“The majority of passengers arriving at Stansted pass through border controls quickly and securely,” he said. “However, at peak times, and similar to many other UK airports, immigration queues can be unacceptably long.

“We recognise that maintaining strong border security is a priority but we also want to see sufficient resources available to meet passenger demand and keep delays to a minimum at the busiest times.

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The talks about a baggage handlers strike at Stansted Airport over the Easter weekend, which were luckily cancelled, got us thinking about the best and worst aspects of air travel.  Most of us have had flights where everything has just gone wonderfully smoothly and without any hitches, while other times it seems that nothing goes right.

Here’s a light hearted look at some of the good, the bad and the ugly things about travelling by plane… Read More

In a recent interview with The Times, Nick Barton, the managing director of Stansted airport, revealed that the airport could increase the number of passengers it handles to approximately 36 million if it was exempt from Civil Aviation Authority regulation, which could help to ease the congestion at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Stansted managers have approached the authority about easing the burden of regulatory restrictions, which apparently cost the airport about twenty grand a week. They feel that the savings made could be passed on to airlines and passengers and enable Stansted to better use its capacity, which is roughly double the current annual passenger count.

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Apparently many UK travellers are planning to travel during spring this year in order to avoid the hectic summer holiday period and its accompanying inflated prices. A recent press release by internet comparison company, Cheap, has revealed that many Brits are hoping to save hundreds of pounds by holidaying earlier in the year.

They collected data from a number of different travel channels which showed that more than half of those questioned are looking to take advantage of the Spring break and are possibly more willing to take their children out of school than to pay the higher prices in the summer holidays.

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With Stansted being the closest airport to the Olympic village where the athletes stay, it will play an important role in this year’s Olympic Games. They are expecting the day after the closing ceremony to be the busiest day in the airport’s history, but there will also be thousands of extra passengers travelling via Stansted during the rest of the Games, including various competing teams, sponsors, Heads of State and other VIPs as well as spectators and media.

Detailed plans have been developed to ensure that every airport company does their bit to manage the enormous number of passengers and equipment passing through Stansted. These were already tested last year during President Obama’s State Visit and FC Barcelona’s attendance at the Champions League final at Wembley (with 10,000 fans!) where Stansted was able to demonstrate its ability to manage these types of difficult and sensitive visits while still maintaining standard flight schedules at the same time.

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Whether you’re staying in a hotel near Stansted or flying out via Stansted Airport, we thought you might be interested in what shopping is available at the airport. After all, there’s nothing to beat a bit of retail therapy when you’re trying to pass the time!

Although Stansted Airport isn’t anywhere near the size of Heathrow, it still has a very decent selection of shops to choose from when passing through. Whether you’re looking for gifts for family or friends, fancy treating yourself to a bit of duty free perfume or are up for some serious fashion shopping, there is something to please everyone.

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Perhaps we’re getting better at coping with the snow lately in the UK or perhaps it was just a case of being forewarned about the weather in advance, but it seems that Stansted Airport didn’t have too many problems due to last week’s snow.

During last year’s snow Stansted didn’t do too badly either and was closed for only 4 hours, which was a lot better than Heathrow or Gatwick. They were on standby to take diverted aircraft last weekend too. Read More

Staying in a hotel near Stansted Airport rather than in London itself is a much more affordable way to visit our country’s capital city. The Stansted Express has made it a cinch to get into London, so it really isn’t necessary to fork out for an expensive London hotel.

During ordinary hours the Stansted Express leaves from Stansted Airport every 15 minutes, so it’s easy to catch it at any time of day, and it will usually have you in London Liverpool Street in about 46 minutes. It also stops at Tottenham Hale on the way (the only stop it makes) giving you even more options for exploring London.

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Most people know that Stansted Airport is London’s third busiest and the fourth busiest in the UK, but did you know that it is also the most punctual airport in Europe, and the third most punctual in the world?

According to Flight Stats, an online flight tracking and airport information service, over 88% of scheduled flights left on time from Stansted during November this year, which is better than any other European airport. Stansted offers the most direct scheduled European flights in the world too, so it’s not because it is less busy either.

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