London Stansted has recorded its busiest-ever July, with 2.9 million passengers passing through the terminal.

The monthly passenger total was an increase of 3.4 per cent on the same month last year, and the third busiest month in the airport's history.

July also saw the airport record its busiest ever departure day, as nearly 53,000 passengers took to the skies on July 26, which was the first Friday of the school holidays.

The most popular destinations during the month were Dublin, Istanbul and Palma de Mallorca, with the most popular countries being Spain, Italy and Turkey.

The 12-month total to the end of July stood at 29.12 million passengers, an increase of 8.5 per cent on the previous year.

During July, 99 per cent of departing passengers passed through security in 15 minutes or less.

July also saw the launch of the airport's latest Little Book of Travel Tales, which was created as part of a World Book Day competition.

Children from schools surrounding the airport were given the chance to share their stories on themes including flights, aircraft, holidays and working at the airport.

The book is being handed out by airport staff at the terminal to entertain young travellers over the summer holidays.

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London Stansted's customer operations director Anita Harrison said: "The start of the main summer holiday getaway is always a very busy time at the airport, and this year we’ve been busier than ever as we welcomed a record-breaking number of passengers to London Stansted.

"I’m really pleased our teams right across the airport have worked incredible hard to provide the best possible service, and deliver a smooth and easy journey through the terminal for our passengers as we know this is really important to them to have as stress-free experience as possible.

"As the holiday season continues, we know there will be no let-up in the strong demand we have already seen this summer as even more passengers choose to fly from the airport, so we will continue doing all we can to make sure we deliver the best experience possible for every passenger flying from London Stansted."