easyJet signs deal with Stansted Airport to double passenger numbers Budget airline easyJet has signed a deal to base more of its flights at Stansted airport, with the aim of increasing the number of passengers passing through the airport each year from 2.8million to 6million over the next five years. The agreement will restore confidence in the Essex hub, which has suffered a significant decline in passenger numbers since 2007. The low-cost carrier already has six planes based at Stansted and operates 27 routes from the airport, including new services to Morocco, Egypt and Bulgaria, but it is still only half the size of the operation at Luton and a sixth of that at Gatwick. Taking off: easyJet will be flying more passengers to and from Stansted thanks to a new deal It is not known yet what routes or how many planes easyJet will be adding to its Stansted base. Located an hour north of London, Stansted is still Britain's third-busiest airport after Heathrow and Gatwick, but had gone into decline under previous owners Heathrow Airport Holdings (formerly known as BAA). It was bought out in February by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) for £1.5billion, which is aiming to restore the airport to its peak figures of 23.8million passengers in 2007. MAG will be investing £50million to improve services at the airport, including speeding up the security process. Big plans: Under new ownership, Stansted is hoping to grow passenger numbers The airport could take up to 35million passengers a year without having to build a second runway, making it a good contender to absorb excess passengers from Heathrow, which is now at capacity and unable to build a third runway. Charlie Cornish, chief executive of MAG, said: "We are delighted that easyJet has chosen Stansted. We're working hard with existing and prospective airlines to drive passenger growth at Stansted so the announcement by easyJet on the new framework for growth is a positive first step. The quality of our offer is compelling and we strongly believe that London Stansted has a key role to play in any debate on south-east capacity and today's positive announcement by easyJet confirms that.