Main Terminal
The UK’s fourth-busiest airport by the CAA’s 2025 count runs everything through a single terminal opened in 1991, with 17 airlines on the official contact list — Ryanair’s home turf, joined by easyJet, Jet2.com, TUI and long-haul Emirates. Gate rooms sit apart, in satellite buildings out on the apron: the driverless Track Transit System carries you there, and a £1.1bn transformation will eventually swap it for walkable «skylinks». Riding out is one-way for some flights — the airport warns that once you have travelled to Gates 1-19 you cannot come back to the main building.
Desk opening varies by carrier: Emirates opens 4 hours before departure, Jet2, TUI, AJet and international Ryanair flights 3 hours, easyJet and domestic Ryanair 2 hours. Some airlines also run a twilight bag drop the evening before — confirm the cut-offs with yours.
Stansted still runs the under-100ml liquids regime, with one modern twist: containers no longer need a clear plastic bag and stay inside your hand luggage. Anything over 100ml does not go through. A paid FastTrack lane (from £6.49) operates 04:00-20:00, bookable up to 12 months out.
The railway station sits directly beneath the terminal — three step-free platforms, a two-minute walk up by lift, escalator or ramp — with the Stansted Express, Greater Anglia and CrossCountry serving it.
Assistance is arranged through your airline or travel agent no less than 48 hours before flying; ABM Aviation delivers the service on the ground. The station below is staffed daily except Christmas Day, and help points cover the car parks, bus station and terminal doors.