This is awful news for Southend but Southend was always vulnerable to an Easyjet withdrawal. The surprise is Stansted so it would appear the airline will focus on a single base north and south of the Thames. Southend was always at a disadvantage as it could not offer the airline a 24/7 operation.
The question is will they return when the world gets back to normal? I really hope so but again it might rely on the other London Airports becoming full again with Southend catching the overflow.
The worst case scenario is that passenger services become unviable for Southend and Stobart closes the terminal to cut costs. I can’t see Ryanair doing much at Southend as their focus will be at Stansted. As for Wizz it can only be a matter of time.