UK regional airport plans huge expansion – tripling passenger numbers

A lesser-known airport is aiming to become one of the UK’s most popular transport hubs, with ambitious plans to triple passenger numbers.

London Southend Airport gained new co-owners earlier this year and aims to welcome 10 million passengers a year.

Amit Rikhy, CEO of Carlyle Airport Group, which became one of the airport’s new owners earlier this year, claims London Southend is the only airport serving the London market and has the potential for significant expansion.

He wants the airport to be able to handle around 10 million passengers a year, which would almost triple its current capacity.

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Speaking at the London Aviation Symposium, Mr Rikhy said investments were being made to raise awareness of the airport as visitor numbers continued to rise post-pandemic.

Currently, the terminal has a capacity of 3.5 million, but many airline services have been suspended due to 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 Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Dalaman, Marrakech, Paris, Amsterdam, Alicante and Lapland.

These and several other routes are mainly served by easyJet, with BHAir also offering routes to and from Bourgas in Bulgaria.

Also launched this year were new easyJet flights to Pisa, Antalya and Enfidha in Tunisia.

However, Mr Rikhy is confident that Southend has the potential to become a major hub for British travellers and people 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 big airports in London are losing capacity; they don’t have slots.”

But before it can be expanded, it first needs to become better known, because currently not enough people are aware of this travel option.

Amit explained that this improved as more money was spent to introduce the airport to new markets.

He said they are also spending money to ensure the passenger experience is as smooth as possible, to encourage people to choose this option.

This involves the use of new technology, such as state-of-the-art X-ray scanners and self-handling baggage, which makes check-in much easier.

He continued: “We are looking at things like self-handling baggage and how we can make it more efficient for passengers to check themselves in, queue management and better signage.

“We recently invested in new X-ray security equipment.”

It is not yet clear when the airport can start the expansion.