Southend Airport is launching flights to "one of the happiest places in the world" next month. 

Southend Airport passengers can fly to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the fifth happiest country on Earth according to the United Nations’ World Happiness Report 2023, in just 52 minutes from May 24.

At under an hour, one of the shortest and fastest flights to Amsterdam, airport bosses also claim the new route is one of the most environmentally friendly flights between the UK and the Netherlands. 

The airport announced the new flights with easyJet at the start of the year.

Flights to the Netherlands' capital city will be operating four times a week from Southend Airport after the launch next month, with flights starting from £31.99.

A spokesman for Southend Airport said: "Southend Airport is proud to fly to one of the happiest places in the world, the Netherlands, with easyJet flights to and from Amsterdam starting Wednesday, May 24."

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Alongside the new Amsterdam flights this year, easyJet has added additional flights to Faro from Southend, which will see the airline's operations at Southend increase by 30 per cent compared to last summer.

The announcement in January illustrated airport bosses' commitment to rebuilding the airport for the future, as in 2019 it was voted the best UK airport and served close to 2.3 million passengers. 

The airport is also targeting Groningen in the Netherlands and more destinations including Dinard and Strasbourg in France, and, the highly anticipated holiday spot, Alicante in Spain.