flatlander

That's the gate area. Gates 1-19 are only accessible if you are flying from those gates, and 40-59 are 10 minutes walk (by the airport's own estimation) from the "departures lounge" where you have to wait until 40 minutes (45 on Ryanair). Nothing is mentioned at gates 20-39 or gates 80-88 (both only accessible if flying from those gates), as I'm sure you noticed.

So, accessible to the (overcrowded, hot) departures area where you will spend your time waiting for the gate announcement before you go to your gate and join a queue to board, there is no water fountain. You have to go and require it from one of the restaurants, which is hardly approachable or advertised in the airport.

Stansted could install water fountains at either of the areas with toilets in the departures lounge, but they haven't bothered.

Compare with Heathrow, which has several visible water fountains in Terminal 5. Stansted airport are being duplicitous.

WorldLux

There is a shelf with bottled water in front of the transit train stop in the departures area. IIRC, a bottle of water is £1.

BAMuc

There are indeed - turns out Stansted pax aren't very honest.

flatlander

That's not a water fountain. That's a shop selling water in a single use plastic bottle. There are many in Stansted departures area.

WorldLux

The shops at STN charge more than a quid BTW I'm not aware of any shop that expects you to pay on an honour based system. IMO a good compromise between the liquids prohibition and giving passenger cheap access to drinking water.

flatlander

The generic Itsu water is still GBP1 as far as I remember (and it's also the easiest place to get one as you proceed, hopefully nonstop, to the gate).