London Stansted Airport (STN) has unveiled plans to extend its terminal building to create a bigger departure lounge and expand its baggage and security areas.

The airport hopes to secure planning permission to add a three-bay extension along the back of its existing terminal, creating new shops, bars and restaurants that will improve passenger experience.

The planned expansion comes two years after STN won an appeal against Uttlesford District Council, allowing it to increase passenger capacity to 43 million per year. The airport says it has served more than 26 million passengers in the last 12 months and expects the 2023 figure to top 2019 levels of 28.1 million.

“We have used the last few years to conduct a thorough review of the options for the next phase of investment, and it’s clear that extending the terminal is the best way of delivering improved service and new capacity,” London Stansted's Managing Director Gareth Powell says.

"The investment we plan to make will enhance facilities for all our airlines, from short-haul, low-cost to long-haul, full-service carriers, enabling us to continue playing an essential role serving passengers across London and the east of England and offering the best possible choice of destinations during this next phase of our development.”

Powell says that the planned terminal extension will make best use of STN’s existing capacity, help to create 5,000 new jobs and see the airport’s economic contribution double to £2 billion ($2.5 billion) annually. A planning application for the expansion is expected to be lodged imminently.

STN is served by 14 carriers during the week commencing July 3—led by Ryanair, which accounts for almost 70% of capacity from the airport. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that overall weekly departure seats currently total 346,000, marking a rise of about 2% on this time in 2019.