Stansted Airport welcomed more than 25 million passengers in the last year as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 1.7 million passengers used the airport in February - up 49 per cent on the same time last year, when Covid testing requirements began to ease for travellers.

The monthly total was equivalent to 92 per cent of the passengers passing through the airport in February 2019, prior to the pandemic.

Nick Millar, the airport's operations director, said: "February was another strong month for passenger growth at London Stansted as we welcomed more than 1.7 million passengers to the airport.

"As a result, we have now served more than 25 million passengers in the last year, a clear indication of the airport’s excellent bounce-back following the easing of travel restrictions 12 months ago.

"It was also another good month operationally, especially during the busy half-term period, with 99 per cent of departing passengers passing through security in 15 minutes or less."

The number of passengers using London Stansted over the past 12 months up to February 2023 - 25 million - is up 183 per cent on the previous year.

The top five destinations people flew to in February were Dublin, Istanbul, Rome, Edinburgh and Bergamo in Milan.

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Meanwhile Emirates' service to Dubai, which will operate twice a day from May 1, continues to be very popular - with thousands of passengers flying to the Middle East hub during February to visit the UAE or onward destinations.

In February the airport also marked the 10th anniversary of Stansted's acquisition by MAG, a period that saw more than 200 million passengers travel through the airport on 1.3 million flights.

Nick Millar continued: "Our airport-wide recruitment campaign continues to go well, while operational preparations are well underway as we look ahead to the next busy period at Easter.

"We are also very pleased we will see more Stansted Express trains running in the peaks from May, but we continue to make the case for the urgent return of the full service to support increased demand from passengers, staff and local commuters."