posted by LTN man. Locals will always pay a premium to fly from their local airport and maybe Londoners will for the convenience of using Southend
You mention the convenience of using Southend but is it really that convenient? Yes the terminal is small so is quick to get out of but passengers still have to check in at least 1 hour before departure if they have luggage and 40 minutes if they have hand luggage. That is no different to larger airports.
The first train of the day from London arrives at 1:47 in the morning but passengers will have to wait outside the terminal in the cold for over 2 hours as unfriendly Southend will not let them in even to keep warm.
The second departure leaves London at 04:59 but involves 3 changes and a half hour walk between stations and takes 1 hour 34 minutes.
The third departure from London arrives at Southend at 6:32 and takes 1 hour 5 minutes. This train is no good for the first Amsterdam departure if you have luggage and is leaving things fine if you don’t. If that train was ever cancelled passengers would miss their flight. A 1 hour 5 minute trip on the train that stops at every station will never feel convenient in my opinion.
That leaves the car, so where is the motorway that gets passengers from London to the airport? There isn’t one. OK a fast A road will be just as quick as a motorway at 5 in the morning but for the rest of the day this is not ideal particularly as Southend Airport feels like it is located in a residential area of the town.
In the other direction the M1 and M11 penetrates outer London getting the car driver to the North Circular Road which was London’s first orbital ring road. Southend drivers have to drive through the streets of London to reach this road.
Southend will always be convenient for the locals who will always have to drive whether to Southend or Stansted if Southend is nearer but is Southend such a great option if you live in London? I can think of a few other airports that I might want to use first.