Stansted special assistance: how to book it, and what's covered

Special assistance at Stansted is free, and you book it through your airline or travel agent at least 48 hours before you travel, not through the airport. The airline takes down what you need and passes it to the airport's Assisted Travel Team, so the people who meet you already know to expect you. It is pre-book only, so the 48-hour notice matters: it is what lets the team plan for the wheelchair, the lane and the help you have asked for.

At Stansted the service is run by ABM Aviation on the airport's behalf, and it is regulated, which is why there is no charge to you for any of it. Once you have booked, anything that changes, a different flight, a new need, or a question about help on board, goes back through your airline rather than the airport. If you booked assistance you do not also need to pay for Fast Track, because the assistance route through security is separate and free.

When you reach the airport, there are two ways to reach the team. You can pick up a help phone, which connects you straight to the Assisted Travel Team, located in the Short Stay car parks and in Zones B and C of the terminal forecourt. Or you can go to the Assistance Desk in Zone A of the terminal. If you are travelling with someone who is happy to help and you just need a wheelchair, there are usually wheelchairs available by the Assistance Desk to borrow.

Arrive by the time your airline advises, which for most flights means being at the airport in good time before departure. One honest point: at busy periods there can be a wait at the help points for someone to come to you, so a booked request, which the team is expecting, is smoother than turning up on spec. If you do not need help to get as far as check-in, you can go to the desks first and come to the Assistance Desk after. For where everything sits, the airport map shows the zones and the walk.

The service is end to end. You are met at your point of arrival at the airport, whether that is a car park, the drop-off, or the station, and taken through check-in, the security search and passport control, using a dedicated assistance lane rather than the standard queue. You are then helped to the aircraft and to your seat. Powered wheelchairs and mobility aids can usually go with you, and the airport notes that one family member can come with you, including onto an assistance minibus or ambulift and out to the aircraft.

Two honest caveats the airport states itself. First, the team is not with you every moment: there may be short spells where you wait on your own, for example at the airside assistance area near the main shops, or in the quieter Assistance Lounge on the route to gates 40 to 59, until it is time to board. Second, only one companion can accompany you onto the minibus, ambulift or aircraft. Build in a buffer rather than a tight connection, and if the wait at a help point is long at peak, that is the trade-off for a turn-up request against a booked one.

Coming the other way, the assistance carries through arrivals. Passport control is the first stop inside the terminal, and there is a dedicated lane for passengers needing assistance, so you do not join the main queue. After that, signs lead to baggage reclaim, where the screens show your carousel; trolleys there take a £1 coin, with change machines in the baggage hall, on the forecourt and at the coach station.

Once you have your bags, the team assists you to your onward travel, whether that is a car park, the taxi rank, the bus and coach station or the rail station. If someone is meeting you, agree where, because there are no separate named meeting points beyond the single arrivals concourse. You can check the landing time first on the Stansted arrivals board.

Special assistance is not only for visible mobility needs. Stansted runs the Sunflower lanyard scheme, where wearing the lanyard quietly tells trained staff you have a hidden disability, such as autism, dementia, anxiety or a sensory impairment, and may want a little more time or help, without having to explain. You do not need to use the booked assistance service to get one: collect a lanyard free from the Assistance Reception in Zone A, with no booking, and if you already have one from another UK airport in the scheme, that works here too. The lanyard does not give you Fast Track, but if the assistance lane at security would help, staff will point you to it.

For dementia specifically, Stansted has been an accredited Inclusive Dementia Community Airport since October 2024, working with the Alzheimer's Society in Essex. More than 1,000 staff have had dementia-awareness training, and there are dedicated meeting points set up as safe spaces to reunite with a travelling companion. Security officers are also trained for situations like travelling with a stoma, and will screen you with that in mind.

Assistance dogs are welcome in the terminal, and can travel on the aircraft where the dog meets the Pet Travel rules, which you arrange with your airline before you fly. When you arrive, head to the Assistance Desk in Zone A before security. There is an assistance-dog relief area near the APV building, airside, and a member of the team will take you to it on request. At the search, both you and your dog are screened: the dog can keep its harness on, an officer holds it while you go through the scanner, and the harness is then searched and swabbed.

If you are travelling with medical equipment, or need extra care at the search because of pain or a condition, tell a security officer and they will help. Carry your medication in your hand baggage, where liquid medicine over 100ml is allowed with proof, as the liquids page explains. For drivers, the accessible parking bays and free accessible shuttles are covered on the Blue Badge parking page, and the rest of the terminal is on the airport services hub.