Southend Airport’s new terminal officially opens

Southend Airport’s new airport passenger terminal has been officially opened by the Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening. The new terminal already offers daily flights to Waterford with Aer Arann, but from April 2 (once the new, longer runway opens) the facility will offer 70 flights a week with Easyjet, which is basing three aircraft at the airport. The carrier is focussing on leisure destinations such as Alicante, Faro, Ibiza, Jersey, Malaga and Mallorca, though it will also serve Amsterdam, Barcelona and Belfast from London Southend. The new terminal has its own airport train station with a link to Stratford in 40 minutes and Liverpool Street in 50 minutes, and promises no more than 15 minutes “from plane to train” (it takes longer the other way, obviously). Airport CEO Alastair Welch said that the owner of the airport, the Stobart Group, has overseen £100 million of private sector funds invested in the redevelopment of the airport. Possible future destinations from the airport depend on the aircraft and load, but the new terminal could handle up to one million passengers annually, and has been built in such a way that it could easily be expanded to cater for double that number by 2020. Easyjet CEO Carolyn McCall said she was delighted that Easyjet was launching flights from the airport from April 2, and said that they were viewing the airport as both inbound and outbound for the area, with the first booking being an inbound one from Amsterdam. The new terminal - which offers complimentary wifi - also has a WHSmith airside, a Searcy’s catering Arnold & Forbes cafe and an airport shopping outlet, as well as a business lounge, accessible for a fee (undecided at the time of writing). The lounge on the first floor has iPads, a selection of hot and cold drinks and some relaxation chairs. In a briefing after the opening ceremony, Transport Minister Justine Greening once again ruled out a third runway at Heathrow, saying there was a cross party consensus against expansion at Heathrow. Instead she said the government would be announcing a "Call for Evidence" into creating a new hub airport for London. For more information visit southendairport.com, easyjet.com. Report by Tom Otley