Is Stansted going to be crazy tomorrow morning?

August 17, 2006 1:05 AM

Has anybody been to Stansted Airport lately?

I have a flight leaving from there at 6.10 tomorrow morning (18/8/6). The best I can do is to get there at 4:45AM on a National Express bus.

Are the crowds and security checks still long and tortuous, and is this pushing my luck too far?

(The even nastier alternative is to arrive at 12.30)

posted by Flashman to Travel & Transportation around London, England (11 answers total)

Are you going to the US? If not, I don't think the security checks are quite so onerous. Minimise your carry-on baggage and don't pack anything valuable that you can't stand to lose (have heard stories about people having iPods and flash drives etc confiscated last week)
posted by Happy Dave at 2:19 AM on August 17, 2006

Best answer: The A6 bus runs to Stansted 24 hours a day. I don't know anything specific about the situation at Stansted, but arriving 1 hour and 25 minutes before an international flight is pushing it.
posted by lukemeister at 2:43 AM on August 17, 2006

I assume you've been to Stansted before -- when I was there last, at 4am the airport was busier than Piccadilly Circus and that's without the security regulations.

Seriously? I'd try to arrive for 8pm the evening before at the very latest. Then you might be able to find two seats to sleep across. Take a very big book, or some knitting.

There are very few cross-Atlantic flights from Stansted. Nevertheless, it's mental all the time.
posted by randomination at 2:54 AM on August 17, 2006

Where are you travelling to Stanstead from?
posted by essexjan at 2:56 AM on August 17, 2006

I met a guy yesterday who'd flown in from Stansted on Monday. According to him, the airport was like a zoo. His luggage also didn't make it to his destination.
posted by springload at 3:00 AM on August 17, 2006

Response by poster: From Oxford... to Italy. I've made various permutations of this trip a lot in the last few years, via Stansted, Gatwick and Luton, with just a carry-on (I did a practice pack last night to see if I can pare things down to fit the new carry-on regs - I can. I was so pleased with myself I even took pictures of the process).
I'm just concerned this time that if I get there at 4.45 I'll be stuck in a two hour security queue.
posted by Flashman at 3:03 AM on August 17, 2006

(Flashman, are you flying to Pisa? Because I think I made exactly the same flight as you (6.10am) two months ago.)

Listen, if I were you, I'd think about leaving now... *


*only half-joking
posted by randomination at 3:14 AM on August 17, 2006

Response by poster: I'm actually flying someplace I'd never even heard of, Lamezia in Calabria.
Ryanair is just saying to get there 2 hours beforehand, so I've been using that as my arrival target.
posted by Flashman at 3:44 AM on August 17, 2006

Best answer: You could get the Oxford Espress/Tube bus to Victoria, then the A6. That'd give you a lot more flexibility about arrival time.
posted by cillit bang at 4:51 AM on August 17, 2006

Response by poster: Bingo!
Thank-you all very much.
posted by Flashman at 5:06 AM on August 17, 2006

Here's another coach from Victoria.
posted by randomination at 5:21 AM on August 17, 2006