EasyJet has responded to calls from customers and airport bosses to offer a new destination from Southend.

The budget airline returned to Southend Airport earlier this month to a warm welcome from holidaymakers.

It is currently providing regular flights to Faro, Palma and Malaga until October.

However, there have been big calls for further destinations to be added.

Echo readers have highlighted Alicante in Spain as a popular choice for a new route.

Southend Airport also backed the idea in a post on Facebook.

Read more >>> 'Feels good to be back' - how passengers reacted to easyJet's flights from Southend

It said: “We have loved reading all your comments to bring back some well-loved routes with easyJet.... Alicante is on all of our bucket lists and we would love to see this route launch.

“You will hear of new destinations here first.”

But easyJet has now revealed it currently does not have plans to operate more routes from the airport.

A spokesman for easyJet said: "While we don’t currently have plans to operate more routes from Southend, we are pleased to be able to serve our customers in the region once again with routes to Malaga and Palma for the summer.

"We continually keep our network under review, to identify opportunities to offer more choice for our customers."

Southend Airport has previously said it wants to add more short-haul flights and routes to its current offerings as bosses aim to get back to pre-Covid pandemic levels.