EasyJet opens base at London Southend Airport

EasyJet has opened a new three-aircraft base at London Southend Airport.

It will run 122 flights per week across 20 routes, creating 140 new jobs in the process.

While the airline resumed flights following the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2022, this move means that EasyJet aircraft will remain at Southend permanently.

Company CEO Gary Wilson said that the base will help the airline "serve many more customers, providing value and more choice", adding that it "supports critical connectivity and jobs for the UK".

The airline is taking passengers to 13 new destinations from Southend this year, including Gran Canaria and Reus in Spain.

EasyJet was forced to withdraw from London Southend Airport in August 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was the airport's largest passenger airline at the time, carrying about half of all customers passing through its gates, but the pandemic lockdowns saw a 90% reduction in passenger numbers.

Ryanair and Wizz Air also pulled out of Southend, meaning that for a time passenger flights ceased altogether.

The disruption and subsequent financial losses led to owner Esken selling an 82.5% stake in the business to US private equity firm Carlyle in March 2024.

The 122 weekly flights represent a 133% increase from last summer, with new routes spanning Europe and North Africa.

London Southend Airport CEO John Upton previously said that the base "is indicative of the demand from people in the east of London, Essex and the wider East Anglia".

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