Stansted Airport Terminal Guide 2026 – Layout, Arrivals Meeting Point, Drop-Off and Pickup

The terminal on departure

Check-in is one long hall on a single level with zones lettered from the left; the low-cost carriers use bag-drop kiosks in the middle and the desks either side. Security is at the far end of the hall, up an escalator, with a fast-track lane sold in advance. The airside area is a single large departure lounge with gates reached by the transit train to satellites 1, 2 and 3; the transit runs every few minutes but allow ten minutes from the lounge to the furthest gate. Stansted asks passengers to be at the airport two hours before a short-haul flight; a pre-booked car dropping on the express set-down puts you at the check-in door in under a minute.

Arrivals and the meeting point

Arrivals come out through a single exit into the arrivals hall at the opposite end of the building. The official meeting point is directly in front of that exit, and it is where a pre-booked driver stands with a name board. Flights are tracked so the driver is there for the actual landing, and sixty minutes of waiting after landing is free, which covers the border queue on a busy evening. The car is in the short-stay car park a two-minute walk away, or, for the mid-stay pickup zone, the driver walks you across. See Stansted arrivals taxi for the pickup service in detail.

Drop-off, pickup and the charges

Private cars pay to use the express set-down outside the terminal; a longer stop uses the mid-stay car park, which is free for a short period and reached by shuttle. With a pre-booked car the forecourt charge is paid by us and inside the fixed fare, so there is nothing to remember afterwards. The Stansted drop-off charge explained page has the current fees and the penalty for non-payment. For onward travel by car, fixed fares from Stansted are on the Stansted Airport transfer page: central London from £182, Cambridge, Bishop's Stortford and the Hertfordshire towns from £65.