SWBKCB
The seven routes that EI-BUD mentioned generated nearly 1 million pax at SEN in 2019, that being a 57% increase on 2018 after RYR joined the party at the end of March 2019.
Those pax were charged according to the airlines' usual fares policies and found SEN an airport preferable to the other LON alternatives. It would be reasonable to assume that RYR were trying to poach some of EZY's customers by virtue of price in their first year at SEN and yet the numbers grew by 57% overall. That demonstrates a strong indication that the market likes SEN as a departure point. The along comes Covid and everything, not just the airline market, is turned upside down.
I believe that EZY saw the enormity of what was happening and wanted rapidly to control their bottom line so closed their SEN, STN and NCL bases. You single out SEN with the inference of its being closed due to a suggested lack of yield; are you suggesting the same applied at STN?
The departure of RYR is harder to understand as MOL suggested in the middle of last year that the SEN operation would be increased when things returned to normal and their departure caught everyone on the hop.
I can see no reason why an airline such as Wizz would not want to take advantage of the opportunity that SEN currently represents, assuming they believe that S2022 will see a strong rebound in the leisure market, by mounting a meaningful operation from SEN. I'm sure that Esken will be keen to do a deal with someone to restore at least the main holiday destinations being served from SEN.
It is true though, as LTNman observes, that a closure time of 2300 makes it difficult to maximise aircraft utilisation with a SEN-based fleet.