Editing London Stansted Airport (section)

===Postwar use===
After the withdrawal of the Americans on 12 August 1945, Stansted was taken over by the [[Air Ministry]] and used by No. 263 Maintenance Unit, RAF, for storage purposes. In addition, between March 1946 and August 1947, Stansted was used for housing German prisoners of war.<ref name="AIllfeb78 p70">Wright ''Aircraft Illustrated'' February 1978, p. 70.</ref>

In November 1946, the recently established British cargo airline, London Aero and Motor Services, equipped with ex-RAF [[Handley Page Halifax]]es, moved into Stansted, using it as a base for its operations until it was wound up in July 1948.<ref name="AIllfeb78 p70-1">Wright ''Aircraft Illustrated'' February 1978, pp. 70–71.</ref>

The Ministry of Civil Aviation finally took control of Stansted in 1949 and the airport was then used as a base by several UK charter airlines. The US military returned in 1954 to extend the runway for a possible transfer to [[NATO]].{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} The transfer to NATO was never realised, however, and the airport continued in civil use, ending up under [[BAA Limited|BAA]] control in 1966.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

During the 1960s, '70s, and early '80s, the Fire Service Training School <!-- (FSTS) --> was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority. The school was responsible for the training of all aviation fire crews for British airfields, as well as those of many overseas countries.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Stansted 1980s?.jpg|thumb|The pre-1991 terminal]]