Originally Posted by
virginblue
Longish article on SEN in the new issue of "Airports of the world". CEO going on the record that he would be disappointed if he was unable to announce two new airlines before the end of 2017.
In a prolonged bout of grandeur he was also musing about SEN overtaking LCY as London's fifth largest airport and serving 10m passengers annually.
Top marks to Glyn Jones for his ability to promote the company line, with a diamond smile on his face and a killer handshake.
But he knows, as he has made quite clear in the past, that 5 million pax is it for SEN. As for two new operators (I ask again how long is it since the last?) Well, perhaps he believes that Powdair and SkyWork will go toe to toe in December.
It's 250 - 300 metres from the Harp House roundabout (on the main Southend to Rochford road), to the terminal entrance and short term car park / drop off point. That's - what - 150 cars bumper to bumper? So anyone who thinks that the surrounding infrastructure can cope with the traffic associated with 10 million pax is living in cloud cuckoo corner land. Locals will get my little joke.
For sure, things are moving in the right direction at SEN, but a lot of hard graft lies ahead just to achieve the previously lauded magic number of 2.5 million pax.