Flights are expected to resume at Stansted Airport on Saturday after a fire on a passenger shuttle bus forced departures to be cancelled.

Passengers described panic and confusion as the bus burst into flames on Friday afternoon, belching thick black smoke that clouded much of the front of the terminal building.

The airport cancelled all departing flights on Friday until midnight, but services were set to resume as normal on Saturday.

"Following the earlier incident involving a shuttle bus fire on the terminal forecourt, we confirm that the airport will be open tomorrow and flights are expected to operate as normal," the airport tweeted.

"Passengers are advised to check the latest flight information with their airlines."

No injuries were reported to have occurred in the incident which began at around 4.20pm.