Articles
London Stansted Airport
The Airport
Located in Essex, 48 kilometers (38 miles) northeast of London is Stansted Airport with excellent car hire facilities. The airport is situated just off the M11 motorway which is the main route between London and the historically important city of Cambridge. When approaching from Cambridge you should leave at junction 8 but if travelling to the airport from London exit with your car at junction 8a. The M11and Stansted Airport is available from junction 27 of the M25 motorway which orbits London.
The airport has one main terminal building designed by Foster Associates and four satellite buildings in which are found departure gates. These satellites are connected to the main large terminal building by a mixture of air bridges and a free passenger transport system (Stansted Airport Transit System).
There is a drop off location on the forecourt outside the main terminal building but you must not leave your car unattended. Any car that has been left could be towed away and subject to heavy retrieval fee and storage charges. Please note that at Stansted Airport there is no immediate pick up location in use. If you wish to pick up a passenger you are advised to use the short term car park which charges £2.50 for the first 30 minutes.
Car Hire Locations
All car hire suppliers we use have desks within the terminal and they can be found close to the exit in the International Arrivals Hall. The operators on site and available are as follows:
Hertz + 44 (0) 870 846 0005
Avis + 44 (0) 844 544 6027
Europcar +44 (0) 127 968 0240
National + 44 (0) 870 400 4581
Alamo + 44 (0) 870 400 4562
Sixt + 44 (0) 844 499 3399
Budget + 44 (0) 870 156 5656
Other Car Hire Locations
Over 49% of travellers to and from Stansted use public transport a testament to the budget airlines using the airport and the cost conscious demographics who use the airlines. Although car hire through a comparison engine like us is cheaper than you think you may want to travel on and pick up the car at another location we serve.
The transport links from Stansted are excellent - by train you can be in central London in 47 minutes using the Stansted Express. Other rail destination served are East Anglia (the Lea Valley), the Midlands (Cambridge, Leicester and Birmingham) and both services have plenty of options to transfer to trains to many other parts of the UK.
By Coach you can get to many parts of London with a host of budget coach transfer companies on site at Stansted (opposite the main terminal building). National operators and local buses are also available to take you as far away as Nottingham or as close as Bishop's Stortford. You can also get to Gatwick and Heathrow airports using the National Express.
Parking
London Stansted Airport has three categories of car park available for use, short stay, mid term stay and long term. The long stay car park at Stansted is to the south west of the airport next to the Hilton Hotel off Round Coppice Road. The mid term car park is closer to the terminal building accessible off the A120 and is targeted at people who wish to pay extra to be closer to the terminal.
The short term car park is designed for stays not exceeding 24 hours and is only a short walk from the terminal building.
Short term parking charges are as follows:
Up to 30 Minutes = £2.50
30 Minutes to 1 Hour = £4.00
1 hour to 2 Hours = £8.00
2 hours = £10.00
3 hours = £12.00
4 hours = £14.00
5 hours = £15.00
6 to 9 hours = £17.50
9 to 12 hours = £20.00
Charge per day is £28.50
Services
London Stansted Airport is the third busiest airport in the UK and one of Europe's fastest growing air hubs. With a low cost airline bias you would expect poor services but the state of the art terminal offers a lot to while away the hours before a flight.
From pubs to coffee shops via restaurants, there is plenty to choose from at Stansted Airport. After security head to Pret a Manger where through huge windows you have an excellent view of the runway with taxis and plane activity galore!
Shopping is another favourite of Stansted veterans (as long as you have room in the hire car) with souvenir shops such as Glorious Britain among retail giants like Hackett, Hugo Boss, Kurt Geiger and Ted Baker.
