Airport once dubbed ‘Essex’s best kept secret’ now UK’s fastest growing

Essex Live
Mel King
06 Jun 2026

Essex has fantastic transport links - it's one of the many reasons why people choose to live here. 

Southend Airport is much smaller than its Essex neighbour at Stansted with around three million passengers each year. But it has big aspirations to reach an annual footfall of 10 million in the years to come - and it has even been named as one of the most punctual and fastest growing airports in the UK.

New figures released by the UK Civil Aviation Authority reveal that traffic at Southend Airport has surged by 247%, compared to the same period last year. To compare, London's five other airports recorded a collective growth of just 1.5% in the year’s first quarter, while passenger numbers across the whole of the UK recorded an increase of only 2.3%...

Airport once dubbed 'Essex's best kept secret' now UK's fastest growing - Essex Live - 06 Jun 2026