The low-cost carrier Ryanair has confirmed that it will close its two aircraft base in the London Southend Airport from the 1st of November. EasyJet made the same announcement last August.

Ryanair aircraft base operations from London Southend lasted three years from 1st April 2019. Two low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air arrived in the airport in the same year and boosted competition by dominating easyJet. 2019 was the record year for Southend airport with the highest-ever passenger traffic level of 2 million passengers in 2019.

Pandemic forced Ryanair and other low-cost carriers to shut down some bases in Europe. While the airline had already shrunk its base from three aircraft to two due to the pandemic, demand has been too low to sustain the base.

In a statement, Southend Airport operator, Esken, confirmed:

“Ryanair will cease operations based from London Southend Airport from November 1. Ryanair signed a five-year agreement to base three aircraft at London Southend Airport in 2018 and commenced operations 1st April 2019. However, Ryanair’s performance at London Southend Airport has been further affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and has now resulted in this decision.”