Stansted Airport
London's newest major airport ([London City Airport]? is newer), Stansted is north-east of London just off the M11 (as was noted when a cargo 747 crashed shortly after takeoff in 1999). It has one main passenger terminal, to the eastern end of the runway, and a separate business aviation terminal to the west. Stansted has only one runway, of 10000 feet, orientated 05/23.
Stansted is notable for being the only airport in the UK, and I believe the first in the world, to have an aircraft stand designed specifically to house hijacked aircraft while allowing operations to continue safely on the remainder of the airport. See the BBC's article on Stansted's hijack history.
Most passenger traffic here is cheap flights to Europe. The passenger terminal is a great ghastly barn, with the only separation between groundside and airside arrivals and departures being movable screens. It's an ugly mess, and seems to be crowded most of the time. BE WARNED that once you are airside departing the only source of sandwiches is Pret a Manger. (As of June 2004.)
Pret isn't the only place to get sandwiches airside, Starbucks do sandwiches & paninis, garfunkels do a great club sandwich. There is also a top Caviar Seafood bar and a large Weatherspoons; what more do you need? -- anonymous
I like the terminal - it's more a tent than a barn, and it feels light and airy. It's a [Norman Foster]? job, you know. -- Tom A
Stansted is not on the tube, but has its own railway station; the [Stansted Express]? runs every 15 minutes from Liverpool Street Station and take about 45 minutes, stopping at Tottenham Hale Station on the way (this is on the Victoria Line, and so may be a more convenient place to board than Liverpool Street). Scurrilous reports suggest this service is often delayed. �25 return fare, less if you have a Ryanair booking number. There are also suburban trains from Liverpool Street, but they stop everywhere en route, and consequently take rather a while.
National Express run two buses to Stansted, one (the A8) from Victoria and Golders Green for about �12, and one (the A9) from Stratford bus station for �6.