London Southend Airport appoints new CEO
London Southend Airport has appointed John Upton as new CEO, effective next month.
He brings an impressive track record of growing consumer-facing businesses, and delivering customer service.
Most recently, as CEO of No1 Lounges, he led the £40m international airport lounge business.
Prior to No1 Lounges, John worked as Managing Director of Leon, the fast growing naturally fast food chain, and was a member of the senior team during 13 years at McDonald’s UK.
Lewis Girdwood, Executive Director – Aviation said, “We are delighted to welcome John. He is a highly experienced with over 25 years’ commercial and operational experience.”
John Upton replaces Glyn Jones, who Jones will stay on for a short period to ensure a smooth transition.
London Southend Airport has been working with airlines that are currently struggling to add additional flights at established London airports.
Unlike those airports, London Southend Airport has available slots and the capacity to welcome additional flights.
It welcomed a Blue Air flight to Bucharest last week as its campaign to support airlines continues to gather pace.
It also welcomed flights from Sky Express to Athens and Wideroe to Bergen in late July.
“We are in the fortunate position to be able to offer airlines capacity to meet passenger demand at a time of significant stress at other London airports,” said Nigel Mayes, Business Development Director at London Southend Airport.
“We have been delighted with the response from airlines and have had an increasing number of enquires for both this Summer and next.”
Ray Monty
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt