Stansted feeds ‘green’ appetite with new EV charging hub and eateries

Located on Thremhall Avenue, the main road into and out of the airport, the EV facility will benefit a variety of customers that pass through the area including airport passengers, employees, businesses, commuters and the local community. A new Burger King and Caffe Nero drive-thru restaurants have also opened at the site.

Gareth Powell, London Stansted’s Managing Director, said: “We are fully committed to the sustainable and responsible growth of London Stansted. This new EV hub is ideally located so passengers, commuters, staff, local residents and businesses passing through can grab a bite to eat and a cup of coffee while recharging their vehicles.

“We’ve already made great strides in reducing our emissions at the airport. We have sourced all our electricity from renewable sources since April 2013, and airport operations under our direct control have been independently recognised as carbon neutral since 2018.

“Our focus is to continue driving forward on our commitment to reach net zero carbon operations by 2038. In addition to our new EV charging hub, we will soon begin construction of our own on-site solar farm to meet the airport’s current and increasing electricity demands and have recently partnered with National Express in their trial of an electric coach operating passenger services between the airport and London.”

Lara Navetta, Sales Director at Swarco, added: “Congratulations to London Stansted Airport on the opening of their new EV charging hub. This milestone is a testament to our long-standing partnership and commitment to sustainable travel. We're proud to have played a role in this significant step towards a greener future.”

SSP has partnered with Stansted to open its first Burger King drive-thru in the country. Caffè Nero has also opened its first ever 24-hour drive-thru store. Costing over £1.2 million, the 1,200 sq ft café has been built from scratch with a bespoke design, creating 16 new jobs.

UK flag carrier British Airways has launched its first scheduled flights from Stansted Airport since before the pandemic. Its new routes target three holiday hotspots – Nice, Florence and Ibiza. The first flight took to the skies on Sunday (May 19) to Florence at 7.40am, followed by the Nice departure at 8.35am and the lunchtime service to Ibiza at 3pm.

They are being operated by BA CityFlyer on Saturdays and Sundays using Embraer 190 aircraft with Club Europe and Euro Traveller cabins.

The airline is also launching a new route to Split in Croatia from September and will continue its weekly Sunday charter between Stansted and Calvi this summer in conjunction with Corsican Places.

Ciaran Brannigan, the airport’s Commercial Director, said: “London Stansted serves more European destinations than any other UK airport and these new services to Ibiza, Florence and Nice are strong additions to our route network. This now covers more than 200 destinations across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

“I’m sure these routes will be very popular with passengers from across London, Cambridge and the growing East of England region. We look forward to working closely with British Airways to build a strong working relationship and ensure these new flights are a success.”