Meet the Neighbours with guests MP and Minsiter for State for Business & Enterprise, Mark Prisk and Nick Barton, MD Stansted Airport Limited
Over a hundred local business people got together on Friday 29 June at the Hilton Hotel at London Stansted Airport.
Organised by Julie Budden, Chair of the Stansted Airport Chamber of Commerce (SACC), they had come to hear local MP and Minster of State for Business & Enterprise, Mark Prisk, talk about his priorities for business.
He was joined by London Stansted MD Nick Barton who described the importance of the airport to the local economy.
He told the meeting that the airport is a major catalyst for growth and productivity in the region, employing over 10,200 people across 190 airport related companies and contributing £400m to the regional economy.
London Stansted serves an area larger than Switzerland, and operates more routes to Europe than any other airport. He said that they were keen to open up routes to the Far East and to North America. Airline economics say that it takes 60,000 - 80,000 passengers pa to make a new route viable. With 462,000 passengers travelling to the Middle East and 1.4m passengers travelling to the USA passing Stansted on their way to Heathrow or Gatwick every year, this a very achievable ambition, and one which will reduce road traffic and speed the journeys for many.
Mark Prisk spoke about his programme to help business, and especially small 
business, to prosper. His remarks focused on three areas in which the Government is actively working to help SMEs, namely reforming and reducing the burden of tax on businesses; helping firms get better access the finance they need; and reducing the burden of regulation, especially on the smallest firms.
Following a Q&A session, he spoke on a one to one basis with many of the business people there.
After the presentations, delegates were able to meet and talk with fellow businesses from across the region. Julie Budden Chair of SACC said, “This event has proved to very informative for all those who attended, and provided an excellent opportunity for business networking. Many of those attending have asked that we hold it again, so I anticipate that this will become an annual event or even twice yearly".
If you wish to be kept informed of the next Meet the Neighbour event, please contact Julie Budden (01279) 87 00 64 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The event was kindly sponsored by:
Money raised for Charity
The event also raised £295.00 by way of a raffle in support of the "Hilton in the Community Foundation" which is dedicated to supporting young people in need by combating exclusion and providing skills, aspirations and opportunities. Focussed on improving access to, and the quality of, education and healthcare, the Foundation mobilises local giving and targets four key areas: disabled children, children in hospitals, children's hospices and homelessness. Grants help vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Europe, while in the event of international disaster grants are made to relief organisations addressing young people's needs.
Leading South East Airport for direct links to Turkey
Direct links to Turkey have been boosted this summer making Stansted the leading airport in the South East of England for destinations served. Direct flight services from Stansted include:
Istanbul Ataturk - AtlasJet flights
Istanbul Sabiha Goken - twice daily Pegasus Airlines
Antalya – AtlasJet, Thomas Cook and Thomson Airways, Onur Air
Bodrum – easyJet, Pegasus Airlines, Thomas Cook
Dalaman – Thomas Cook, easyJet, Thomson Airways
Izmir – Pegasus Airlines
Speaking about the development of Turkish connections from the Stansted, Mark Souter, Head of Airline Relations said:
“Turkey has emerged as a leading market for short-haul leisure travel with 2.6 million Brits visiting the country in 20111 and as an important partner for British business with trade worth over $9billion a year 2.
“Whilst these direct connections are important for business and leisure travel, we should also remember that some of these passenger flights carry import and export goods between the two countries, contributing to the $9billion annual trade, with regular shipments to and from Stansted including pharmaceuticals, spices and textiles.”
Tolga Tuyluoglu, Director, Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK said:
"Turkey today is one of the leading short-haul destinations for travel from the UK, increasingly serving niche markets like adventure travel and city-breaks such as Istanbul - a huge and growing hub to connections around the world - in addition to the ever-popular sun-sea-sand holiday.
“According to our research with Mintel, half of the British visitors in Turkey are repeat. And, with its burgeoning economy, Turkey is also a great draw for British business travellers. We are delighted that Stansted Airport plays such an important role in connecting the two countries and developing the market with flights to such a large number of destinations in Turkey."
Community Fund, part of the BAA Communities Trust.
The headline objective for the independent judging panel assessing applications is to ‘help make a community dream come true’.
Projects must be linked to education, youth development, environment, employment or skills development. Successful bids in recent years include a village community project to transform grazing land into sporting and recreational facilities; and a youth scheme giving career advice and vital support to help youngsters get onto career ladders.
Representing the airport will be Stansted’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Marcella, M’Rabety, who said:
“This £50,000 grant will be a fantastic cash injection for the lucky charity or community group successful in the bid process.
“Applications have been open for a few weeks now and I want to ensure that as many community groups as possible have the opportunity to submit their bids before the deadline at the beginning of August.
“Whilst I sit on the panel, part of my role is to help manage the applications, so I am more than happy for organisations to get in touch if they want some guidance on the criteria for applying.”
The closing date for applications is 3rd August 2012.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information and to request an application form.
Application forms can also be downloaded from www.stanstedairport.com/community
London Stansted Airport has once again been named the world’s best airport for low-cost airlines at the World Airport Awards.
London’s third busiest airport, and the fourth busiest in the UK, won the title for the second consecutive year in a poll of 12 million passengers for the annual Skytrax airport customer survey. The feedback captures the views and opinions of over 100 different nationalities, covering 388 airports and 372 airport hotels worldwide.
Collecting the award on behalf of Stansted Airport at the ceremony in Vienna, Austria, Managing Director, Nick Barton, said:
“I’m extremely proud that, once again, Stansted has been chosen as the best airport in the world for low-cost airlines by the most important people in the aviation industry, the passengers.
“Stansted operates in the fiercely competitive point-to-point air travel market, both here in the UK and across Europe. We fully understand that passengers and airlines have more choice than ever when choosing where to fly from, so we have to constantly push ourselves to always do better and always do more to stay ahead of the competition.
“Excellent operational performance, world-class terminal facilities and great range of destinations are key factors for passengers when deciding their favourite airport. Thanks to our great track record in these areas, we are delighted and honoured to once again be globally recognised as a world-leading airport.”
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