Capacity upgrade of Stansted Airport

London Stansted's £600m Transformation Programme will be the biggest upgrade to the airport in nearly 30 years, permitting it to serve 43 million passengers per annum (MPPA). The programme included the construction of a new stand-alone Arrivals terminal, increased Departures and Airfield capacity, and construction of additional car parking. [key outcome] When completed, the airport will consolidate its position as London's third airport and provide a new, improved experience for travellers to and from the UK.

Ramboll's role in the Pascall+Watson led multidisciplinary design team involved structural, civil engineering, building services, information and communication technology, specialist systems and airfield engineering, to develop the airside and landside and realise 43mppa capacity. Updated technologies and more flexible facilities will be provided to meet the needs of such diverse growth.

The last phase of the transformation project was the construction of a £130 million, 34,000 sq m Arrivals Terminal, situated next to the current terminal. It was proposed to include a larger immigration and baggage reclaim areas, new retail facilities, improved access for all onward transport options and a new landscaped Arrivals Plaza adjacent to the existing forecourt which will become a new focal point for travellers arriving in the UK.

On completion, the current terminal was proposed to be recommissioned as a dedicated departures terminal, with more space and a 'shoreline' check-in layout complete with hi-tech check-in desks, including extensive use of self-check-in and self-bag-drop technology, to provide more passengers with a smoother more intuitive check-in process.

Ramboll has worked with Stansted Airport for over 20 years designing airside and landside infrastructure and buildings. We were involved in early studies for the second terminal building at the airport and multi-disciplinary engineering design services in support of the Stansted Transformation Project expanding the airfield, the car parks and the terminal buildings.

In addition to the tender design for the Arrivals building that was delivered in summer 2018 and work designing the reconfiguration of the existing terminal to provide expanded departures facilities, Ramboll's remit also included the design of a new Coaching Building. We delivered an innovative design that minimised the impact on the operation of the airport on what is a highly constrained airside site. The new Coaching Building provides an additional nine coaching gates with skylinks, providing connectivity to the existing Satellite piers 2 and 3 and represents another important step in the expansion of the airport's capacity to 43 MPPA.

Designs for the planned transformation ensured demands for short-term growth whilst setting the framework for achieving long-term growth. Once completed, the transformed terminal complex will reinstate the coherent, spacious feeling of the original building and provide additional footprint for passenger facilities.

Achieving this transformation within and around the boundaries of an existing operational terminal will be extremely challenging. The design team has worked with Stansted Airport to develop a number of strategies to provide the maximum benefit while minimizing disruption to passengers and airline operations.

Designs for the planned transformation ensured demands for short-term growth whilst setting the framework for achieving long-term growth. Once completed, the transformed terminal complex will reinstate the coherent, spacious feeling of the original building and provide additional footprint for passenger facilities.

Achieving this transformation within and around the boundaries of an existing operational terminal will be extremely challenging. The design team has worked with Stansted Airport to develop a number of strategies to provide the maximum benefit while minimizing disruption to passengers and airline operations.