10th June 2020

Lockdown Lives and Stansted Airport

At time of writing, the most recent traffic figures for Stansted Airport show a dramatic fall in passenger numbers. Less than 21,000 passengers used the airport in May 2000 compared to 2.6 million in May last year – a reduction of 99.2%. The number of passenger flights has also fallen dramatically – from more than 16,000 in May 2019 to just 403 in May 2020.
These impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are not a cause for celebration by SSE or anyone else. However, there are wider impacts which are worth reflecting upon.
The devastating impact of the pandemic on the health of the population – especially the elderly – is well documented. However, the substantial reduction in Stansted Airport’s operations during the current lockdown, as a result of the pandemic, has brought many other changes to our community.
Many will have concerns about their future job security if the airport is to face a long term downturn. We can only hope that the airlines, MAG and other airport employers will keep these impacts to a minimum and mitigate them so far as they possibly can.
At the same time, the relative tranquility brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic has had a positive impact upon the quality of live for many local residents and there is a growing recognition that we are very fortunate to live amidst such beautiful countryside and woodlands.
Stop Stansted Expansion is trying to capture details of how all these changes have affected the quality of life for local residents across a wide area of Herts and Essex, South Cambridgeshire and parts of Suffolk. We are asking people to email SSE with their experiences and perceptions with a view to capturing them for posterity and for potential reference in the future.
Your email can be as long or as short as you wish, but please identify your lockdown location with the first part of your postcode so that we can map the responses we receive. If you wish the use of your email to remain anonymous, please make this clear in your email.
Please send your email to info@stanstedairportwatch.com and mark the subject of the email as “Lockdown Lives and Stansted Airport”. We would be pleased if you would also share this request with others who you think may be willing to respond.
Wishing you good health.

Campaigning to ensure Stansted Airport's authorised operations stay below harmful limits