Stunning photos, Musket90, thanks for sharing. Such a contrast to the modern terminal. I'm sure I'm just being nostalgic but it had the feel of a 'real' airport back then. Seeing all the exotically-registered DC-8s and 707s on my one pre-EasyJet visit to STN felt like a real adventure. My photos aren't as interesting as yours but I'll upload some tomorrow.

SotonSean and Rog747, thanks for putting me in the direction of that collection of photos. I particularly like the 'outdoor departure lounge'!

This is the best I can contribute at the moment, folks. I'm looking to see if I can find my dad's old aircraft photos as his are better than mine I'm sure.
Anyway, here we have what looks like an ex-Air Canada DC-8 (could be the same one that's in Liffy 1M's photo in post #23), a ZAS Boeing 707, an ex-BA Trident and a Channel Express Herald. I'm thinking this is about 1984 or 1985.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8ff6f749bb.jpg

One aspect of the Scandinavian charters was that, long before any EU operator could fly anywhere, the Scandinavian companies could fly from any of the countries, other than their home one. You can see this in some of the flights listed above, with Braathens of Norway operating from Stockholm or Sterling who operated from all of them. They would have a couple of aircraft based at each main city, and run them at an intensity similar to UK IT operators, down to various Mediterranean points all week. The Sunday London flights were a bit of a fill-in between these operations. It is also a Scandinavian feature, like Canada, that sun holidays have long been popular in winter as well as summer.

Sterlings Caravelles were notable for some astoundingly long-haul holiday flights they did with them in the 1970s, to Thailand (long a popular place for Scandinavia, or to San Francisco in California - the latter a bit unbelievable were it not for several photos on the web and a couple of accounts of the flights. They typically routed Copenhagen-Keflavik-Bangor-Omaha-San Francisco. They went through Bangor to and from the Dominican Republic as well - then next day the short hop to Stansted.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ebc729d726.jpg
New terminal under construction- September 1988
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b6de32260f.jpg
July 1995
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....fc4e43eb23.jpg
New control tower under construction - July 1995

Channex Electra but who's is the orange tail A300? Schreiner?

The Airbus looks a bit like Hapag?

For just a second I thought the IL-76 was a C-141A in the top pic! :}

I'm wondering if the lower aircraft in the middle picture is a Trident 3. For many years after their withdrawal G-AWZU was kept at Stansted and used for tug driver training. Engines removed but cowlings remained. It was kept nicely clean and retained its livery apart from the BA titles being removed. It could be seen parked at various gates of the new terminal and looked remarkably complete and ready to fly if you didn't know it or look closely. I always looked out for it. Believe it was finally scrapped in 2003.

Regarding DC8s there, I arrived back in the early 1990s on a humdrum Air UK 146 from Edinburgh, we parked alongside an MGM Grand DC8-62. They were a notably high end US operator with an all first class fitout, who ran schedules from New York to Las Vegas and Los Angeles for the wealthy. Must have been a charter over to London.

Don't think Hapag ever had A300F. Looks a lot like ZS-SDG from SAA!

The Trident looking aircraft in the middle picture may be a DC9-30 or 40. I vaguely remember SAS used to operate a schedule in the early days of the new terminal but not sure of the exact year.

I think you be right! Didn't know SAA had a A300F! She seems to be still going with an ER- reg wherever that is.

A few from 2005
 

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a88d8e3672.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e378195008.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....acb5fca67f.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3c09f0a4eb.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4346f053a1.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....28729e389f.jpg

Another short-lived operator; Flying Finn, which we took (week after I took the photo) Stansted to Helsinki in 2003. Former Finnair MD-80, and also the crew. They had previously been a Finnish travel agency who had a short-lived go at schedules. Not part of the Sunday Scandinavian set, this was a daily operation. Took it with a Russian passport holder with a Finnish visa - only in Finnish. Stansted handling agent at check-in had no training in reading these, but said they just looked for a date somewhere that was in the future.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....7cad601c59.jpg

WHBM: I arrived back in the early 1990s on a humdrum Air UK 146 from Edinburgh. :=

Now that is slander!!. AirUK 146's were never humdrum. ;) "Gentleman's horseless carriage" more like.

I remember one evening about 2000 ish, we were being loaded for a UPS flight to CGN (Channex A300). Parked next to us was an Ethopian IL76. The Service air ramp supervisor told us that the captain had locked the cockpit door and was demanding to be taken to Tesco before they departed.
We left, but the following evening we heard that the Ethopian captain had his wish and came back from a 24hour Tesco with 3 taxis full of stuff.

Indeed. Very impressively, one was the only aircraft I've been in that was struck by lightning, same route, EDI-STN one evening, which was regular for me then. Big flash but handled it perfectly, lights didn't even dip. Bit of a noise though. These were the days before London City ran to Edinburgh, which I transferred to - and before AirUK moved on to Buzz, then Go took over the route, and finally Easyjet.

AirUK had a holiday flight side, badged as AirUK Leisure, with 737-400s, including one or two based at Stansted. They must have had a separate AOC, because one low-season morning at Stansted one was standing in for a 146 to Edinburgh, and check-in were thus having to inform each passenger about the substitution. Elderly couple in front of me are told in best Essex girl accent "Edinburgh, yeah, it's a Leisure flight this morning, yeah?". Which of course was completely meaningless to them.

How sad, Go B in it's vile new orange livery.

I was working at Stansted in the early 1980s and remember very well the 3th June 1983 when the space shuttle visited. I doubt I will ever see such a sight again.

https://nats.aero/blog/2014/06/space-shuttle-stansted/

Can't believe that crowd of spectators! When I had an airside pass for BAA it was forbidden to take a camera airside.

Scandinavian flights to STN
 

As a student in the summers of 1986/87/88, I worked at the Regent Palace Hotel, in Piccadilly, as a hall porter. Our sundays were completely taken up with the storage of departing Scandinavian's bags, left with us whilst the guests enjoyed a final day in London, before an evening flight home. I still have one of the colourful Spies tags somewhere,and remember the flight numbers being for Scanair and Conair flights to Gothenberg, Stockholm and Copenhagen. As a further aside, as a 5 year old in snowy January 1971, my parents treated me to a mini cruise on Tor Line, aboard the 'leaping' Leda, from Newcastle to Bergen and Stavanger. Fond fond memories!

An Air UK incident from 1987.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1d3e10ffe.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....feaa00653.jpeg