A few here could do with a little bit of faith in the management team. Lets all remember what Stobart has done for SEN in only a short time. They have built a new terminal and already expanded it together with a new control tower, railway station, apron and extended the runway. Everything is physically in place that needs to be in place.
Some things they can't improve which is out of Stobart's control including distance from London, a direct motorway link, a catchment area that is limited in direction and a rail service that is non existent for early morning departures and late evening arrivals.
Like all airports Stobart has to convince airlines that coming to SEN is better than using London's other airports, which will also be chasing the same airlines. No doubt those airlines will be looking at the choice available and how successful those airports already are. SEN doesn't have a track record yet of being seen as successful. This comes over time and can take years as airlines dip their toe in the Southend waters. Airlines will come and go as will some routes but slowly the airport should grow the numbers.
Will Southend hit 3 million in just a further 3 years? No idea but unless Easyjet expand their SEN operation in a big way it looks unlikely. It took Luton 30 years to pass 3 million from when it had its first proper terminal in a catchment area that is seen by many to be vast and runs in all directions.
Easyjet set the ball rolling in an age when IT traffic at Luton was in decline. Then came Wizz and a mixture of other airlines including El-Al and Tarom who could all see that Luton was buzzing. I don't think some of those airlines would have come to Luton without it having a track record of success.
It all takes time but Rome wasn't built in a day so hang in there, you will get there
