?This winter we will sit 7 of our 40 Stansted based aircraft on the ground because Stansted's higher airport charges make it more profitable to ground these aircraft during the winter rather than fly them.?



- Ryanair Press Release, 7/31/07

The British Airports Authorities have been planning a 4 Billion Pound project to add a new runway and a new terminal to the airport. Ryanair did not stop attacking the airport at just that,

?The current service provided by the BAA at Stansted is nothing short of appalling. Many of the 17 security machines are regularly unmanned during peak morning periods, and understaffing at passport control continues to cause long queues and frequent passenger delays.?

-Ryanair Press Release, 7/31/07

Ryanair has also reported an 18% upsurge in traffic and a 20% rise in profits! Ryanair is one of the fastest growing low cost airlines in the world. Offering some of the lowest fares through out Europe, sometimes even as low as 10 Pounds one way, Ryanair relies on quick turnaround times of aircraft on the ground as well as the workhorse of their fleet, the Boeing 737-800, of which it operates 120 of the type of aircraft. Most of those 120 aircraft are equipped with winglets to increase fuel efficiency. Ryanair travels to 26 different European countries and employs over 4000 people from over 20 different countries. Ryanair has been growing at amazing rates ever since it was founded in 1985. In fact, the International Airport Transportation Authorities, IATA, has confirmed earlier this year that Ryanair is in fact the largest international airline in the world! This success however, has not come without some major complaints! There have been many complaints lodged against Ryanair citing their safety standards, pilot and flight staff training, and overall turnaround cleanliness quality. With the expansion of London's Stansted forthcoming, it will be interesting to see how Ryanair reacts in the coming months! With 40 aircraft currently based in that airport, Stansted plays an instrumental part of Ryanair's network and Ryanair plays a crucial part in Stansted's survival!