Dreams V Reality
Its worth remembering that the current runway has limitations for the current fleet of aircraft using SOU, ie the ATR (along with even the mighty Dash) is heavily restricted departing runway 20 on all days, only made worse on hotter days. The small extension planned would no doubt benefit the current operators over any possible future operators more and open up opportunities for them. LM CEO has even said this about his mixed fleet!
Its probably best people dont get there hopes up to much regarding EZY, would they really be bothered about SOU? Aurigny, Loganair, Eastern and Blue Islands will no doubt be the backbone that keeps SOU alive for the foreseeable future.