Located 41 miles (66km) from the capital, London Southend has no passenger airlines or routes, but that will change when easyJet returns in May with two routes.

2019 was a record year

The contrast to 2019 couldn't be more vivid. Southend, London's sixth-busiest airport, passed the two million passenger milestone that year. It was the UK's fastest-growing airport, with traffic up by 37% in a year, but obviously from a low base. Its passenger volume was less than Belfast City but more than Southampton.

Southend's rise was helped by other London-area airports reaching capacity limits, a willingness for airlines to try new things (aided by the Southend's "ultra-low costs" and no slot restrictions), and competitive rivalry. Wizz Air, Ryanair, Loganair, FlyOne, and others joined, while easyJet – Southend's primary operator – expanded further with a record offer.

The then Business Development Director of Southend expected three million passengers in 2020, but it ended the pandemic-struck year with barely 400,000 and only 94,000 in 2021.

Its fast development was extraordinary and, in various ways, unfortunately timed. Airlines confronted the pandemic by reevaluating their networks, and they often cut newer and underperforming airports and routes and changed priorities. They all left Southend.

London Southend's passenger develpment
In 2008-2010, Southend had only a summer-seasonal link to Jersey, barely registering in the above figure. Source of data: UK CAA.

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But optimism abounds

As London's passenger traffic edges towards pre-coronavirus levels and then grows again, Southend will hope to attract back carriers to revive its previous glory. It has a brand-new Business Development Director, and it'll be helped by:

  • No doubt excellent deals
  • No runway or terminal constraints and therefore no slots restrictions
  • No London air traffic control delays
  • Lower block times and potentially higher productivity
  • A 50-minute train journey to London (similar to Stansted and Luton), with the station just 100 meters from the terminal
  • As Southend is small, the door-to-door time is quicker than most other airports
  • An award-winning terminal

Will it succeed? This week, Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's Group CEO, ruled out an immediate return to the airport, although he suggested that it could return in the next two to three years.

London Southend's network in 2019
Southend's network in 2019. The top-10 destinations by seats for sale were Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB), Alicante (ALC), Girona (GRO), Faro (FAO), Rennes (RNS), Malaga (AGP), Aberdeen (ABZ), Palma (PMI), and Glasgow (GLA). Image: GCMap.

For now, one airline and two routes

While Southend says its catchment area comprises eight+ million people, the overlap with other London airports is unclear. It'd be interesting to know the population and wealth of those for whom Southend is the closest airport.

It'd go hand-in-hand with outbound sun-and-spade markets, which would undoubtedly perform especially well from the airport as a foundation of its recovery. It needs to drive awareness of the airport among airlines, the local population who need to be encouraged to travel from the airport, tourism bodies, and more.

London Southend
An old image, but it shows how easy the airport is to use, as I've experienced on a couple of occasions. It's quite a contrast to other London airports. Photo: via London Southend Airport.

A focus on outbound markets

It is outbound markets that easyJet will focus on when it returns to the airport this summer with a 6x weekly operation to Malaga and 4x weekly to Palma, both starting on May 2nd.

The routes are possible due to easyJet's bases in Malaga and Palma. Further growth will be difficult unless it recreates a base at Southend or has 'W' flights, the latter unlikely due to sector lengths to warm places.

Pre-pandemic, London Southend expected up to six million passengers by 2023. What it needs now is long-term investment with a sensible, logical network of routes from carriers (undoubtedly LCCs/ULCCs) who perform well and grow realistically and sustainably.

What do you think of the airport? Let us know in the comments.