London Stansted Airport (IATA: STN, ICAO: EGSS) is an international airport located in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, 42 mi (68 km) northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations across Europe, Asia and Africa. Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair, with over 100 destinations served by the airline. In 2015, it was the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester. Stansted’s runway is also used by private companies such as the Harrods Aviation, Titan Airways, and XJet terminals, which are private ground handlers that are able to handle private flights, charter flights, and state visits.
Converted to civil use from RAF Stansted Mountfitchet in the late 1940s, Stansted was used by charter airlines. It came under British Airports Authority control in 1966. The privatised BAA sold Stansted in February 2013 to Manchester Airports Group as a result of a March 2009 ruling by the Competition Commission against BAA’s monopoly position