AIRPORT bosses say they were able to showcase their facilities on the “world stage” when Donald Trump arrived for his state visit.

The US President touched down at Stansted Airport on Monday morning ahead of his three-day trip to the UK.

Mr Trump, who was joined by his family during the state visit, was welcomed to Stansted by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and the airport’s chief operating officer Steve Griffiths.

The Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Jennifer Tolhurst, and the US Ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, were also part of the welcoming party.

Speaking after Mr Trump and the first lady had landed and set off for London via helicopter, Mr Griffiths said: “London Stansted is used to handling high-profile occasions, but the arrival of Air Force One brings its own unique set of challenges.

“This is a huge team effort, and our priority is to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible while keeping any disruption to our airlines and passengers to a minimum.

“It was a pleasure to welcome the President and his family to Stansted and to have the opportunity to showcase the airport on the world stage.

“I’m very proud of the teams who have worked so hard to make this possible, on top of the challenges of helping thousands of football fans get to their matches across Europe.”

Trump’s arrival was the fifth time Stansted has welcomed Air Force One to the UK for a US President’s visit.

The large-scale operation saw airport staff work with a host of organisations, including Harrods Aviation, Essex Police, the Government, US Embassy and the White House.

Air Force One was taken to the private aviation facility at Stansted immediately after landing.

The airport says this helped to ensure any disruption to other passengers at the airport was kept to a minimum and it is possible many would not have seen the President and his entourage.

Trump’s arrival rounded off a busy week at Stansted, with the airport offering additional flights for the European football finals taking place last week.

The airport arranged 200 extra flights to help fans get to Baku in Azerbaijan for the Europa League and Madrid for the Champions League finals respectively. It is estimated the extra flights saw an additional 500,000 passengers pass through Stansted Airport last week.