The Airport Operator: Summer 2025
20 June 2025
Following a 133% increase in flights year-on-year, London Southend Airport is expecting that capacity constraints at other London airports will fuel further growth over the next five years.
The airport’s new CEO, Jude Winstanley, told The Airport Operator that he expects London Southend to top 750,000 passengers this year before reaching a million in 2026.
Winstanley, who took on his new role in December last year, believes that the airport will continue to grow to 2030 thanks to continuing capacity constraints at airports across London and the South East and the low cost and high-quality operations that London Southend Airport can offer both existing and new airline operators.
The turning point for the airport came on 31 March this year when easyJet opened its 10th UK base at London Southend, with three A320neo aircraft serving 122 flights per week on 20 routes to leisure destinations across Europe and North Africa and easyJet’s CEO, Kenton Jarvis, declaring that the new base “consolidates our position as the UK’s largest leisure airline”. Winstanley described the base opening as “a significant milestone for both the airport and the local community”.
More: The Airport Operator: Summer 2025 - Pages 32 to 35 - Airports UK - 20 June 2025
