London Stansted Airport was at the heart of the nation’s Mother’s Day celebrations as 1,000 tonnes of flowers arrive at the airport ahead of the big day.

Cargo planes at Stansted were busy flying in millions of flowers of every colour and variety from key growing regions in Africa and South America as, up and down the country, the UK prepared to say thank you to mum.

More than half of all flowers arriving into the UK by air from outside Europe in March came through Stansted, making it by far the most important airport for Mother’s Day flower imports. And figures show that Mother’s Day is second only to Valentine’s Day in the flower power charts; February and March are the two most important months for flower imports at Stansted.

263,000 tonnes of freight, including other Mother’s Day essentials like chocolates, was shipped through Stansted in 2017 on 12,500 cargo flights. Other key goods that Stansted process are textiles, fruit and vegetables, electronics, pharmaceuticals, mail, race-horses and Formula One equipment.

Conan Busby, MAG Cargo Manager, said: “When most people think of an airport, they probably think of heading off to far-flung holiday destinations rather than flowers, but this month at Stansted we’re as much about bouquets as we are about beaches. It’s a reminder that airports play an important role in many aspects of everyday life. In March, Stansted will handle just over half of all UK fresh flowers coming into this country from outside the EU.

"Stansted is the third busiest airport for cargo by volume in the country and one of the key ports of entry for time sensitive goods to the UK such as fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers from the major exporting nations in South America and Africa on scheduled freighter services."