Airlines Ryanair opens new London Southend base

Ryanair has announced plans to base three Boeing 737-800 aircraft in Southend from April 2019. The low cost carrier will open 13 new routes to eight countries, including destinations in Spain, Italy, France and Greece.

As the carrier stated, it will invest $300 million and plans to operate over 55 weekly flights. For the first year Ryanair expects around one million passengers travelling from and to Southend. With the expected number of new passengers, London Southend could double the number of passengers from one million compared to 2017 to over two million in 2019.

London Southend Airport is located in the district of Rochford within Essex, 58 kilometers from the centre of London and is the smallest international airport in London. Following the purchase by Stobart Group in 2008, the airport has been modified with an extended runway and a new passenger terminal. Ryanair’s competitor Easyjet has commenced services from Southend in 2012.

Ryanair already operates flights from London-Gatwick, London Stansted and Luton. Stansted Airport is one of the largest Ryanair bases in the entire network.

Warwick Brady, CEO of Stobart Group stated: “We are delighted to welcome Ryanair and its guests to London Southend in S2019. We have a clear and focused strategy to grow our airport to welcome over 5m passengers a year by 2022. This news will help us achieve that aim, and Ryanair will be a valuable partner to Stobart Group in developing the London Southend airport with 13 routes and 6 new destinations, allowing us to play a key role in solving London’s capacity crisis.”