MORE than 28 million passengers have passed through Stansted Airport in the last year.

Figures released by the airport show it enjoyed its busiest ever March after it welcomed 2.11million passengers throughout the last month.

This means the total number of passengers passing through in the last 12 months was 28.39 million, an increase of 8.6 per cent.

The final month of the winter programme saw increased demand on flights to the UAE, Italy, Portugal and Spain with "strong" growth recorded on key routes to Barcelona, Vienna, Madrid and Milan.

Airport CEO Ken O’Toole said: "This was another busy month for London Stansted with over two million passengers passing through our doors, the first time we’ve ever topped two million passengers in March, and rounds-off a strong performance across the full winter season.

"We are now focusing on our preparations and plans for the new summer flying schedule and ensuring we are ready to deliver the best possible airport experience.

"We are recruiting more security staff and adding more customer service ambassadors to enhance the passenger journey as well as upgrading many of our basic facilities including installing more water fountains, charging points, seats and passenger help points and have created a dedicated ‘quiet area’ area near the departure lounge.

"We’ve also doubled the number of terminal cleaning staff and the number of busses operating to our car parks. This coupled with additional investment and increased resourcing by many of our key airport partners is all part of our strategy to invest in delivering great customer service for our passengers."