A LESSER-KNOWN airport is looking to become one of the UK’s most popular transport hubs, with ambitious plans to triple passenger numbers.
Having gained new joint owners earlier this year, London Southend Airport aims to welcome 10 million passengers per year.
CEO of Carlyle Airport Group, Amit Rikhy, who became one of the airport’s new owners earlier this year, claims London Southend is the only airport serving the London market with the potential for significant expansion.
He wants the airport to cater for as many as 10 million passengers per year, almost tripling its current capacity.
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Speaking at the the London Aviation Symposium, Mr Rikhy said investment was being made to make people more aware of the airport while its numbers continue to recover following the pandemic.
Currently, the terminal has a capacity of 3.5 million, but a lot of its airline services have not returned following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Passenger numbers are slowly increasing and are expected to reach 1 million next year.
The airport still offers flights to popular holiday destinations, including the likes of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Dalaman, Marrakech, Paris, Amsterdam, Alicante and Lapland.
Those routes, and several others, are mainly served by easyJet, with BHAir providing additional routes to and from Bourgas in Bulgaria.
New easyJet flights to Pisa, Antalya and Enfidha in Tunisia have also launched this year.
However, Mr Rikhy believes that Southend is perfectly poised to become an important travel hub for British travellers and those coming to the UK.
According to Aviation Week, he told the Symposium: “Why did we invest in Southend? Access to London.
“This airport is the only airport in the London market that has capacity. The large airports in London are running out of capacity; they don’t have slots.”
Before it can expand, however, it needs to increase awareness with not enough people currently aware of it as an option for travel.
Amit explained that this was getting better with money being spent to expose the airport to new markets.
He said they’re also spending money to make sure passenger experience is as smooth as possible, to encourage people to choose it as an option.
That involves new technology like state-of-the-art x-ray scanners and self-handling baggage, making the check-in process much easier.
He continued: “We’re looking at things like self-handling baggage and making it more efficient for passengers to self-check-in … queue management and better wayfinding.
“We invested recently in new X-ray security equipment.”
When the airport will be able to begin its expansion remains unclear.
Hand luggage rules for UK airlines
We’ve rounded up how much hand luggage you can take on UK airlines when booking their most basic fare.
Ryanair
One personal bag measuring no more than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
EasyJet
One personal bag measuring no larger than 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Jet2
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm weighing up to 10kg
TUI
One personal item that its underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm weighing up to 10kg
British Airways
One personal bag no larger than 40cm x 30cm x 15cm and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm 25cm weighing up to 23kg
Virgin Atlantic
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 36cm x 23cm weighing up to 10kg