Stansted Airport urges passengers not to turn up too early

Stansted Airport said people arriving too early for flights was causing crowding issues

Bosses at Stansted Airport have urged passengers not to turn up too early for flights amid reports of delays at other airports.

Some travellers have arrived up to five hours before their flights causing crowding issues at the airport.

However bosses said that arriving three hours before a flight was sufficient.

Operations director Nick Millar said passengers should be "prepared" when arriving at the terminal to ensure they went through checks "seamlessly".

The airport said it was expecting 2.6m passengers this August, 90% of pre-pandemic levels.

Nick Millar urged passengers not to arrive too early for flights

Mr Millar said he understood why people were keen to arrive extra early but insisted it was not necessary.

"Three hours before the flight is our advice and that's what we're encouraging people to do," he said.

"What we can do is reassure the travelling public that when they arrive at that time, they will go through our processes and get to their gate and get on the plane without concerns.

"We ask people to look at the websites and listen to their airlines so they are prepared when they come to the terminal building."

Mr Millar said people should ensure they were ready to go through the airport's "various checkpoints", by having their boarding passes ready and taking liquids out of bags.

"Then when they go through, they go through seamlessly," he said.