Article from BTNews 8 APRIL 2019
Ryanair opens Southend base
Events at Southend and Liverpool kept Ryanair busy last week as the airline officially opened its new base at the Essex airport as well as celebrating the first flight on a new twice-weekly service between the North West and Copenhagen.
At Southend, whose airport is part of the Stobart Group, Ryanair declared its new base open with three aircraft, representing an investment of $300m, and kicked off its summer 2019 schedule with 14 new routes.
The line-up includes new connections to Alicante, Corfu, Faro and Milan Bergamo, which the airline says between them will deliver more than 1m passengers a year and support 750 “on-site” jobs at Southend.
Stobart Aviation CEO Glyn Jones said: “We are delighted to welcome the first Ryanair flight to London Southend. Ryanair passengers can now fly to 14 new routes and enjoy a quick and easy airport with direct trains to London in 51min.
“We welcomed 1.5m passengers last year. With the arrival of Ryanair, we will be welcoming more than 2.5m. We are growing fast and believe we can maintain the momentum as more airlines recognise we represent an attracting destination for growth in London.”
At Liverpool, the Copenhagen flights join a Rynair summer schedule with 34 routes in total, with two other new services, to Corfu and Paphos, joining the list.
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