London Stansted has recorded its busiest ever October as over 2.5 million passengers used the airport, an increase of 8.8 per cent on last year.

The record-breaking month, boosted by the start of the half-term holidays and the final weeks of the airlines’ summer timetable, saw an additional 205,000 passengers take to the skies compared with October 2017.

The seven months of the summer flying schedule saw nearly 18.5 million passengers travel to and from Stansted, an increase of 1.5 million over the same period in 2017.

The total increased due to the arrival of a number of new airlines, including Emirates launching its daily service to Dubai, plus increases in capacity by existing carriers such as Ryanair and Jet2.com.

The 12-month rolling total now stands at over 27.6 million passengers, up seven per cent on the previous year.

Chief executive of London Stansted, Ken O’Toole, said: “The record growth we have once again seen in October, and during the five years of MAG’s ownership of London Stansted, is testament to our ambition and commitment to re-energising the airport and making it more attractive to airlines and passengers.

“Stansted has been the fastest growing airport in the UK this year and this success highlights exactly why it’s important we plan and prepare now for more strong growth over the next decade.

“We are investing £600 million to transform the airport facilities for passengers and we are determined to secure more long-haul services to destinations across China, India and the USA.”

He added: “This week we will find out if our planning application to increase passenger numbers to 43 million a year within current flight and noise limits has been successful.

“A positive outcome will enable us to make best use of Stansted’s available airport capacity and sustainably deliver the next phase of the airport’s evolution.”