It is my understanding that representatives from the Carlyle Group joined the London Southend route development team at Routes Europe 2024 this week and were on stand discussing opportunities with airlines. Amit Rikhy, group CEO of CAG Holdings LLC (CAG Holdings is the Carlyle Group's dedicated US-based investment platform for airport infrastructure investment opportunities globally) along with Stephen Cheung, Director of CAG Holdings LLC, flew over to Aarhus Denmark from the United States to join the Southend team made up of Nigel Mayes (Business Development Director), Marc Watkins (Route Development Manager) & Lin Hull (Business Development).
With a few airlines scheduled to visit London Southend throughout this year, let's hope talks were positive and we begin to see the benefits of the takeover in the not-so-distant future, but I must say it doesn't bode well for the "they are going to run it into the ground and build houses" crowd.