Could Stobart possibly be having ideas from Southend ? The distance by air is so short that the journey between London and western Belgium via OST airport might beat the more diversionary journey involving either Brussels-Zaventem or the Eurostar. In terms of flight distance, it is less than 100 nm so very short flying time.
Bruges-Zaventem takes 1h30 by train (1 direct train per hour) while Ostend-Zaventem takes 1h50 (no useful direct trains). Groningen to Schiphol by comparison takes 2h05 (1 direct train per hour)
Ostend or Bruges by train to Lille takes over 2 hours. Driving Ostend/Bruges to Lille is about 1h10 if traffic is light
Unlike London-Amsterdam and London-Paris, there is no LCC flying London-Brussels (easyjet were slot-sitting in 2013) so airfares can be higher than might be expected. The Eurostar booked less than a month or two in advance is expensive
I'm wondering in particular whether such a route might be appeal more to people living in Belgium (who may happen to have a car in Belgium and can thus easily drive to/from OST airport) wishing to travel to/from London rather than UK residents wanting a trip to Bruges. Presumably the Southend-Groningen route is aimed at Dutch residents rather than UK residents. Of course the fact that Bruges is not far and a big tourist draw might add a few extra Essex/Suffolk residents to the passenger load.
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 27th Jun 2017 at 01:00.