I really do think it all depends on the time of day.
I flew into STN again very recently:
-The wheels hit the runway at 18:06
-Taxied to and disembarked at Satellite 3
-Got through passport control
-Reclaimed 4 bags
-Went over to Meet & Greet building to collect car keys
-Was at the exit barrier at 18:58.
At 52 mins that's pretty good going as far as I was concerned.
I do appreciate though that it's not always like this and fully agree their needs to be vast improvements in regards to the UK Border Force, especially for the late evening wave of arrivals.
There's very few issues with regards to security. I think in part the staff have been getting more used to the higher volume of passengers.
I don't really understand the "boring airport" comment but it certainly looks better in terms of what's already there. Maybe just a simple matter of taste?
Longer term I'd say there is likely to be further extensions to the terminal (similar to the most recent in 2007/8) to deal with the increase in passengers rather than a second terminal.
Nice to see how many people took interest in the new VIE route btw
