Stansted sets new February traffic record

LONDON - "Really strong start to the year": London Stansted shrugged off the cold and damp of a leap-year February to toast another record-breaking month for passengers. More than 1.92 million passengers passed through the terminal during February, beating a previous record set in February 2020 by almost 50,000.

Even without the extra leap year day, passenger numbers would have exceeded all previous records, the airport said.

More than 360,000 passengers jetted out for the half-term holiday alone, as families from across the East of England headed away for some winter sun, to go skiing and to visit friends and family. Short breaks to European cities such as Dublin, Edinburgh, Istanbul and Barcelona were also popular.

"It's been a really strong start to the year, and we're certainly not seeing any let-up in the demand to fly as we now look ahead to the upcoming Easter break," Standsted COO Jonathan Fowler said. "We’re now gearing up for the Easter holiday which is always a busy time of year for the travel industry."