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Cheap Stansted Airport Parking » Airport Information>History History of Stansted AirportWhen the United States Army built the airport in 1942, the plan was for it to be a bomber base. It served this purpose well, having 600 or more planes on hand for D-Day, the Battle of Normandy.
When the war ended, however, there was little need for such a large bomber base. In 1947, the Air Ministry took over the airstrip. There were some expectations that the US Army would retake the field and turn it over to NATO, but this did not happen. The extended runway became useful for civilian use.
Management of the airport was given to British Airports Authority (BAA) in 1966. Plans were designed to build a terminal building which opened in 1969. Although there had been no terminal building previously, there were flights made before the terminal was completed. Before the new terminal was a year old, it needed to be extended due to passenger traffic.
In 1978, the government issued a White Paper which suggested a major expansion of Stansted Airport. The intention seemed to be to make the airport the third major London airport to relieve Heathrow and Gatwick.
The Queen was on hand in 1991 to open the 400 million pound terminal, apron extension and taxiways which had been approved in 1984.
The airport always seemed to be enlarging its own goals. In 2000 it planned to be updated enough to handle 25 million passengers per year. In 2005, the number had changed to 35 million passengers annually.
The government smiled on Stansted in 2003 when it suggested that the preferred choice for an additional runway be at Stansted International Airport rather than at Gatwick or Heathrow.
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