![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-16-20-53-49-7760-e1776374818921.jpg\")
\n\t\tQueues of more than two hours built at Stansted Airport on Thursday night (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tQueues of more than two hours built at Stansted Airport on Thursday night (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n
Passengers at London Stansted<\/a> faced a night of chaos after queues of more than two hours at security, Metro can reveal.<\/p>\n Hundreds of travellers looked set to miss flights on Thursday night after arriving at the Essex<\/a> Airport queues of more than an hour backed up to the entrance of the security area.<\/p>\n No announcements were made by the airport and as of 10.15pm, just two of the 11 security scanners were open while furious passengers watched on.<\/p>\n People on the scene were told there wasn\u2019t enough staff.<\/p>\n A passenger who was due to travel on the 10pm flight to Dublin<\/a> told Metro: \u2018There\u2019s a total lack of staff. There are women with babies in buggies and prams who don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to have to sleep in the airport tonight.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018People are here in the queue having to watch FlightRadar to see if their flight has taken off, it\u2019s just a total lack of communication.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Passengers on the 9.55pm flight to Frankfurt<\/a> Hahn, the 10pm to Dublin and the 10.05pm to Copenhagen<\/a> were all affected.<\/p>\n One man was in tears and said he was going to miss a wedding in Denmark<\/a> tomorrow.<\/p>\n One passenger paid for fast track and went to that section, only to find the queue had been closed.<\/p>\n Tourists are now stranded in London<\/a> and have been left with no choice but to book last-minute accommodation.<\/p>\n A ground worker was heard telling passengers: \u2018We are just as furious as you are.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tLatest London news\t\t\t<\/p>\n To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro’s London news hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n The last flight from Stansted was due to depart for Izmir, in Turkey<\/a> at 10.30pm. It is unclear how many passengers were able to board.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Stansted Airport told Metro: \u2018Security queue times were longer than would normally be expected for a period this evening due to high passenger numbers. <\/p>\n \u2018Our teams worked hard to support passengers and get them safely through security as soon as possible. We thank passengers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience.\u2019<\/p>\n Earlier on Thursday, strikes\u00a0by ABM workers at Stansted were called off <\/a>to allow workers to vote on an improved pay offer.<\/p>\n Over 100 Unite members who look after passengers with disabilities at the airport were due to walk out from tomorrow until Monday 20 April in a\u00a0dispute over pay.<\/p>\n However, following negotiations between Unite, the employer and conciliatory service Acas this has now been postponed after a new offer was put forward.<\/p>\n Unite regional officer Steve Edwards said:\u00a0\u2018After a new offer has been put forward to members, we have decided to stop strike action to allow them to have their say.\u2019<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-16-21-32-42-9ec3-e1776375209120.jpg\")
\n\t\tPeople on the scene described a \u2018total lack of communication\u2019 (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n
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