I am not sure it is a feather in the cap when those airlines would rather not be at SEN and are not prepared to offer any services from Southend.
While Southend has the space to take in the diversions it doesn't have the staff as the staffing levels are set for the planned programme. This leads to some very long delays in getting the passengers off the aircraft if more than a couple of diversions arrive in quick succession.
It is a sad state of affairs that the only thing us Southend supporters can get excited about these days are diversions. What Southend needs is new routes and new airlines and at the moment Southend is going in the wrong direction while all the other London Airports are expanding.