Struggling UK airport given huge boost as easyJet to reopen base with six new flight routes to top European destinations

PASSENGERS wanting to fly easyJet from Essex have been given a major boost.

Today (Thursday, May 16), easyJet announced that it would be opening its 10th airport base in the UK at London Southend Airport in Essex.

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The budget airline already has nine bases in UK airports like Birmingham International Airport, London Gatwick Airport, Bristol Airport and Edinburgh Airport.

While the low-cost airline already operates several flights from London Southend Airport to destinations across Europe, it will be adding six new routes to its roster when the base opens in summer 2025.

From London Southend Airport, easyJet will fly to Pisa, Gran Canaria, Dalaman and Antalya, Marrakech as well as Enfidha in Tunisia.

Package holidays with easyJet holidays will be on sale from tomorrow for departures after May 1, 2025, as reported by the Southend Echo.

Three new aircraft will be based at London Southend Airport to support the new routes.

It is though that the new base will create 130 new jobs.

EasyJet started operating from the airport in 2012, but the airline scrapped its base in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said: “We are delighted to be announcing another three-aircraft base in the UK, at London Southend Airport.

“This will create hundreds of jobs and provide more choice for consumers with new routes and package holidays.

“Our continued growth and investment in the UK highlights the importance of the market where this year we will operate more flying than ever before with our customers choosing our flights and holidays because of our trusted brand, unrivalled network and great value fares.”

The new easyJet base will be welcome news for the airport, which was put up for sale last year after a drastic drop in passenger numbers.

During the coronavirus lockdowns, the number of people passing through the Essex travel hub dropped by around 90 per cent.

The drop in passenger footprint resulted in heavy post-tax financial losses of £21.5million in February 2022.

London Southend’s Parent company Eksen said it is looking for “the right buyer” for the business.

An airport spokesperson said: “Ultimately this will benefit our airline partners, customers, local stakeholders and the region.

“Our parent company Esken is exploring a sale of London Southend Airport and initial planning for this has already started.

“Esken will look for the right buyer with the capital to support our new management team and our ambitious growth prospects over the long term.”

EasyJet wasn’t the only airline to pull its airport hub because of Covid-19, with Ryanair and Wizz Air also scrapping flights.

There are only a handful of daily departures from London Southend Airport.

According to flightradar24, only seven flights are scheduled to leave London Southend Airport today (May 16, 2024).

These include destinations like Humberside, Jersey, Zagreb, Malaga and Mallorca.

Only five easyJet flights are set to operate from the airport tomorrow (May 17, 2024), according to the air traffic website.

Earlier this year, Italian start-up Aeroitalia confirmed it would be scrapping all flights from the London Airport – just weeks after they were announced.

Meanwhile, an abandoned UK airport has revealed plans for Ryanair and easyJet flights – following a 10-year closure.

Manston Airport bosses are hoping to reintroduce passengers flights when the airport becomes a successful cargo base.

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