EasyJet has announced it will begin flights from London Southend airport in April 2012 in time to serve passengers travelling to the London Olympics. The low cost UK carrier expects to carry around 800,000 passengers in its first year.
Under a 10-year deal with the Stobart Group that owns Southend airport, easyJet will operate 70 flights a week to European destinations including Barcelona, Ibiza and Faro in Portugal.
Tickets for flights from the airport go on sale at the end of next month.
London Southend boasts a brand new terminal, which is connected to London by a new train station that opens later this summer. The airport is advertising a plane-to-train time of 15 minutes, with a journey time to London Liverpool Street Station of 53 minutes.