Again within the Sixties, Southend Airport was the third-busiest within the UK after Heathrow and Manchester. Issues have actually been a bit quieter since these days.
Over the winter, the only scheduled flights from the Essex backwater have been to Waterford in Eire.
However the airport is about to develop into busier as soon as once more. EasyJet is shifting in tomorrow, and is launching flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona and Belfast.
Again to Southend: easyJet is shifting in to the refurbished airport tomorrow
Over the subsequent few weeks, the low-cost airline may even begin companies from Southend to Alicante, Faro, Ibiza, Majorca, Malaga and Jersey, and by early Might it will likely be working 70 flights every week from the positioning.
From Might 10, Aer Lingus Regional can be commencing companies to Dublin from the Essex airport.
If any of those locations is in your radar, and you reside in East Anglia or the South East, there are sturdy arguments for flying from Southend as a substitute of one of many larger London airports or its Essex rival, Stansted.
London Southend Airport (to provide it its full title) is well-connected with central London. There are frequent trains from Liverpool Road to the airport and the journey takes simply over 50 minutes.
Southend Airport’s house owners, the Stobart haulage firm, have spent £100million renovating the positioning.
Along with constructing a brand new air site visitors management tower and lengthening the runway to accommodate easyJet-sized plane, they’ve created a gleaming, light-filled terminal, which was formally opened by Transport Secretary Justine Greening final month.
That the cafe within the outdated terminal continues to be open for locals to pop into for a cup of tea sums up the airport’s low-key really feel.
Due to the airport’s small measurement, Southend is prone to provide a speedier service than rivals, with much less problem.
It’s only about 100 yards from the futuristic-looking railway station to the doorway of the terminal. And when you’re driving to the airport, the automobile park is a mere five-minute stroll away, so there isn’t a want to hold round for shuttle buses as passengers do at Gatwick and Stansted.
With only a single duty-free retailer and a W H Smith, the departure lounge is refreshingly uncluttered.
In your return, the airport boasts which you could get from aircraft to coach in simply quarter-hour.
With baggage to gather, that sounds slightly optimistic, however it ought to nonetheless be fast.
Southend-on-Sea is probably not the primary alternative of vacation vacation spot today, however its airport appears like an excellent place from which to begin your vacation.
For extra data go to www.southendairport.com, www.easyjet.com and www.aerlingus.com.
The truth is, 2012 is proving one thing of a increase 12 months for brand spanking new air companies. Here’s a number of the extra noteworthy new flights beginning this spring and summer time.
Holidays from The Metropolis
British Airways (www.ba.com) is constant to increase the selection of vacation spots you’ll be able to fly to from user-friendly London Metropolis Airport. In Might, flights will begin from there to Menorca, Angers within the Loire Valley and Quimper in Brittany – all brand-new locations for BA.
Hong Kong in consolation
Final month, Hong Kong Airways (www.hongkongairlines.com) began a brand new all-business-class service between Gatwick and the previous British colony. Fares, which value from £1,800 return, may be significantly decrease than flying enterprise class with rival airways on the identical route.
Extra flights to Iceland
Final week, easyJet began its first-ever flights to Iceland – from Luton to Reykjavik. Come June, there may even be flights to the Icelandic capital with a alternative of airways from Stansted: with the brand new, considerably immodestly named WOW Air (www.wowair.com), and with Iceland Categorical (www.icelandexpress.com), which is restarting companies on the route.
Mexico with Virgin Atlantic
In early June, Virgin Atlantic (www.virgin-atlantic.com) is beginning its first-ever flights to Mexico. The twice-weekly service from Gatwick to the resort of Cancun will compete straight with BA and constitution airways.
Turku with Ryanair
Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) has simply began flying from Stansted to Turku on Finland’s south-west coast. By no means heard of it? Effectively, maybe you need to have executed.
Town is Finland’s oldest and was joint European Capital of Tradition final 12 months. It’s also the pure place to begin for exploring the magical 20,000-island Turku archipelago.
Unique from Stansted
Unique Escapes (www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk) is providing bundle holidays to Turkey with a distinction this summer time. Its weekly constitution flight to Dalaman departs from a personal jet terminal at Stansted. You may park one minute away from the terminal, and your baggage is collected out of your automobile by a porter.
