Southend Airport offers free flights to delayed passengers
London Southend Airport is offering free return tickets to Manchester, Glasgow or Dublin on new flights operated by Stobart Air to passengers who have endured delays when flying from Heathrow or Gatwick.
From August 14, it will give the free tickets to the first 1,000 passengers who email them proof they were held up at Heathrow or Gatwick by at least 30 minutes when flying to one of the above cities.
Southend is aiming to demonstrate the benefits of avoiding London’s two biggest airports ahead of the launch of its new domestic routes on October 29.
Figures from the Civil Aviation Authority show that in the first five months of 2017, over 11 million passengers were delayed travelling from Heathrow and Gatwick. Southend claimed many of the delays were a direct result of the crowded skies over the two airports.
"Airport capacity is now a significant issue at five out of London’s six airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City) with all of them near to full. However, London Southend Airport which has the potential to accommodate 10 million guests a year, and currently at 1.2 million, has plenty of spare capacity to ensure a smooth, quick and easy transit," it said.
Glyn Jones, CEO of Southend Airport owners Stobart Aviation, said:~"Heathrow and Gatwick keep celebrating rising passenger numbers but what is good for their bottom line, makes for a bad travel experience for tens of thousands of passengers every day.
"We have been rated best airport in the UK three years in a row by Which? and it is our core customer promise that we provide a better, quicker, more pleasurable way to travel compared to the stressful and overwhelmed larger airports.
"An increasing number of people are discovering the benefits of London Southend Airport and are enjoying our calm, friendly and easy terminal; we look forward to welcoming many more."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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