Ryanair is to open a new base at London Southend airport in April 2019, despite its concerns for UK aviation after Brexit.
The budget airline said it will base three planes at the airport from April and fly 13 routes to eight countries, including Spain and Greece.
More than 55 flights a week will see Ryanair carry an estimated one million passengers per year. Since a £100m project to turn Southend into a 21st-century airport, easyJet has established a base there.
Most of the Ryanair routes are to sunshine destinations. Four are to destinations already served from Southend by easyJet: Alicante, Faro, Malaga and Palma. Competition between the two airlines could trigger a fares war.
Southend will be the fourteenth base for the low-cost airline and “create 750 jobs”, according to research.
Planned new routes include five flights per week to Alicante and Malaga in Spain, twice daily flights to Dublin and other flights to Portugal, Italy and Venice.
Southend’s deal with Ryanair will double passenger numbers at an airport that only reopened six years ago. Its rapid expansion is set to continue, according to the chief executive of its owners, the Stobart Group. “We have a clear and focused strategy to grow our airport to welcome over 5 million passengers a year by 2022,” he said.
“Ryanair guests travelling to and from London and the Essex area can now enjoy low fares on a choice of 13 routes through London Southend’s exceptionally passenger friendly terminal.”
The move also signals a warning to Stansted Airport that Ryanair is prepared to grow elsewhere. Trains from Southend Airport’s own railway station to London Liverpool Street take 52 minutes, only slightly longer than those to Stansted.
Southend Airport has long said it intends to capitalise on the congestion at other London airports, while waiting for a third runway at Heathrow.
“Passengers are increasingly turning to London Southend Airport amid the capacity crisis found elsewhere in the capital, where holidaymakers and business travellers face frustration from overcrowded airports, impacting on customer service.”
