More than 1,500 responses have revealed the destinations passengers most want to see added to the growing route network at London Southend Airport.
Your Southend asked readers which destinations they would most like to be able to fly to directly from their local airport, with suggestions ranging from European city breaks and Mediterranean islands to domestic connections.
After counting the responses, Cyprus emerged as the overall number one request, followed by Murcia in Spain and Dublin in Ireland.
The wishlist comes at a particularly interesting time for Southend Airport, with easyJet preparing for another major expansion of its base and openly signalling that further new routes could follow.
The airline recently confirmed that a fourth Airbus A320neo will be based at Southend from summer 2027, just two years after easyJet formally opened its three-aircraft base at the airport in March 2025.
More than 800,000 passengers travelled with easyJet to and from Southend during the base’s first year, according to the airline. easyJet says the fourth aircraft will give it additional capacity to increase frequencies and introduce new routes in future seasons.
easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis said:
“Eighteen months after opening our base at London Southend Airport, we’re adding another Airbus A320neo to our fleet there from summer 2027, taking it to a four-aircraft base.
“It will support around 400 direct and indirect jobs across pilots, cabin crew and engineers, and give us capacity to add frequencies and new routes in future seasons.
“We’re also launching an exclusive new route from Southend to Rhodes, flying twice weekly from 27 April 2027.
“More than 800,000 passengers flew with us to and from Southend in the base’s first year. That demand from customers across Essex and the wider region is why we’re investing further.
“Each UK-based aircraft supports around £27 million in gross value added, so this growth benefits the local economy as well as our network.
“A big thank you to our team of 140 pilots and crew and our engineering team at London Southend, who have made this base an operational success from day one and of course thanks to Jude Winstanley and the London Southend Airport team for their continued support.”
The first new destination associated with the expansion has already been confirmed, with easyJet launching an exclusive Southend to Rhodes service from 27 April 2027. Flights will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
But Southend Airport itself has suggested Rhodes may not be the last addition.
Airport CEO Jude Winstanley said the extra aircraft was a “real vote of confidence” in Southend and highlighted the potential for further destinations.
He said: “We’ve listened to what our customers and local travel agents have been telling us, and Greece was one of the obvious gaps in our network. We’re really pleased to have filled that gap, and we’re excited to see what other new destinations the fourth based A320neo will bring for Summer 2027.”
The airport expects its recovery and expansion to continue during 2027, with passenger numbers forecast to pass one million during the year. It also expects to employ more than 400 people directly next year.
That makes the results of our wishlist particularly timely.
The Top 20 Most Requested Southend Airport Destinations
| Position | Destination |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cyprus |
| 2 | Murcia |
| 3 | Dublin |
| 4 | Corfu |
| 5 | Glasgow |
| 6 | Newquay |
| 7 | Kraków |
| 8 | Paphos |
| 9 | Larnaca |
| 10 | Madeira |
| 11 | Rome |
| 12 | Cork |
| 13 | Athens |
| 14 | Prague |
| 15 | Fuerteventura |
| 16 | Crete |
| 17 | Manchester |
| 18 | Menorca |
| 19 | Inverness |
| 20 | Gibraltar |
The results show demand for a mixture of sunshine destinations, city breaks and domestic or short-haul connections.
Cyprus taking the top spot is particularly notable, although Paphos and Larnaca also appeared separately in the Top 10 after some respondents named the specific Cypriot airport they wanted.
Spain’s Murcia took second place, while Dublin was the highest-ranked city destination in third. Greek destinations also feature prominently, with Corfu fourth, Athens 13th and Crete 16th, alongside the newly announced Rhodes service which is already confirmed for 2027.
There also appears to be appetite for more UK connectivity. Glasgow placed fifth, Newquay sixth, Manchester 17th and Inverness 19th.
Southend’s network has already expanded significantly since easyJet established its base. When the three-aircraft base opened in March 2025, easyJet was operating 20 routes and 122 flights per week from the airport.
Further destinations have followed, including Budapest, while easyJet now says more than 30 routes are available from Southend.
Whether any of the destinations on the wishlist make it onto the departure boards remains to be seen, but with a fourth aircraft arriving and both easyJet and the airport talking publicly about further expansion, there is now additional capacity for the network to grow.