Earlier this week, on May 1st, low-cost carrier easyJet restarted seasonal flight services from London Southend Airport to Palma de Mallorca Airport. The return of flights to Palma marks the return of Southend's second summer destination this year, with many more to return toward the end of this month.

An unofficial 'official restart'

To celebrate the somewhat official restart of flight operations from London Southend Airport, the first 50 passengers through airport security were invited to indulge in a ‘palm-leaf’ Palma cupcake and pose for a photo in the dedicated selfie corner, The Snug.

Meanwhile, the Air Traffic Control tower broadcasted a Facebook livestream showing both the departing easyJet flight U2 7262 bound for Palma de Mallorca Airport and flight U2 7008 bound for Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, which was the first summer destination the budget carrier resumed earlier this year on March 29th.

The flight schedules for both summer destinations are as follows:

Also celebrating the unofficial, yet official restart of summer flight services from London Southend Airport was John Upton, the airport's Chief Executive Officer, as he highlighted:

"Millions of people living in east London and the east of England need an airport that they can get to quickly and easily – Southend Airport is just that. We know that our passengers are our greatest advocates. That’s why we are working night and day to secure more destinations and more airline partners. We look forward to providing updates on our progress.”

Photo: London Southend Airport

Passenger numbers are climbing back up

The return of easyJet also highlights how it's still the only airline to resume flight services from Southend Airport this year, ever since others like Ryanair and Wizz Air pulled out two summers ago amidst lower passenger numbers. The reduction in operational airlines saw airport operations grinding to quite a halt, with London Southend Airport's annual passenger count falling to just 100,000 last year.

Such numbers weren't pretty for London's sixth major airport, so its management has been seeking old and new airline partners to boost its passenger numbers and overall popularity in a very competitive market. Fortunately, easyJet certainly bit the bait with the return of two flight services already and another two more scheduled - specifically resumptions of flights to Amsterdam and Faro, due to commence on May 24th.

Photo: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock.

Hopefully, Southend Airport can charm even more airline partners to return or set up operations as the airport can provide capacity relief for the other major London airports or even alternative and perhaps cheaper connections compared to them, especially during the peak summer season.