LIVING in Colchester and north Essex there is a high chance you’ve flown out of Stansted Airport if you have been on a trip.

But what really goes on behind the scenes – and how do some of the countries biggest airlines operate? This year Ryanair marks 33 years running out of the Essex airport.

And sometimes there has been a bumpy ride. During the pandemic In 2021 people boarded or got off international flights at the airport 2,569,402 times between April and November.

However, this was still only 13 per cent of the 19.2 million recorded over the same period in 2019.

This summer things are getting more back to normal. But travellers face concerns over long queues and staff shortages.

Ryanair have given the Gazette an exclusive insight into what it is like working out of Stansted.

The airline is currently working at 115 per cent capacity versus pre-pandemic and has been offering customers more than 150 routes this summer connecting 28 countries, with more than 1,300 flights per week.

Director of marketing, communications and digital Dara Brady said: “This is a very big operation we have at Stansted.

“There are 46 aircraft there which alone is £4.5 billion investment into Stansted.

“The Ryanair operation has gone very well this summer, and part of that is due to the good decisions during the pandemic.

“We tried to avoid letting staff go, as we always believed there would be big springboard rebound, and that has been proved this summer.”

The airline has been jetting passengers off to some of its favoured destinations like Faro and Alicante, as well as newer ones such as Madeira and Tangier.

Mr Brady said: “We have had a very good summer.

“We’ve carried more than 21 million passengers to and from Stansted this year and have been a big creator of jobs.”

Ryanair hopes to continue its summer successes at Stansted heading into the end of the year, where they expect a strong demand for winter travel as has been the case in previous years.

Mr Brady said: “It is very early doors, but we expect the demand for winter travel will be strong.

“There will be everything from summer sun, to city breaks, and business connections, so a lot of very wide-ranging options.

“There will be some new destinations like Catania in Italy, Lapland, Klagenfurt or Leipzig in Germany.

“Our main routes are there too, Barca, Madrid, Budapest, Copenhagen, as we have good connections there. We will also be connecting into Edinburgh this winter.

“People love to take city breaks or mid-term breaks in the winter, and we expect that again this year.”

The Irish airline has also been full of praise for Stansted in is 33rd year.

The company values the Essex airport highly, with the successful partnership still going strong.

Mr Brady said: “I think it is a great sign for the region that Ryanair was always there at Stansted for the long haul. We are Stansted.

“We work very hard with the airport to make sure it is successful for them and us and take a lot of joy knowing that we have been there for over 30 years, growing from a small airline to what we are now.

“It is great to see Stansted stand out, as it has been very well managed, and it’s a testament to the people and hard workers there.

“We were planning for this recovery since last November, and always felt this summer we were going to see strong demand.”