Southend Airport flights to Milan cancelled as route ‘taken off sale’

The first of near-daily flights from Southend to Milan Bergamo had been due to start from March 25.

In January, Southend Airport bosses confirmed it had stuck a deal with Italy’s second largest airline, Aeroitalia, to open the new route.

However, a spokesman for the airport has now confirmed flights to Milan have been taken off sale and cancellations are currently under way.

Exciting future - Southend Airport points to big re-capitalisation deal to promote growth and hints at 'exciting' route announcements soon

But the airport has also hinted at additional "exciting" route announcements "very soon".

The announcement comes as the airport looks to a "thriving" future following its decision to enter into a recapitalisation agreement with Carlyle Group and Cyrus Capital Partners. 

This move enables London Southend to "close the chapter" with its current owner, Esken, paving the way for future growth and investment.

Confirming the cancellation of Aeroitalia flights from Southend, a spokesman for Southend Airport said: “At London Southend, we’re continuing to double our traffic year on year. With our destinations growing rapidly from three to eleven over the past year with existing and prospective partners, we expect to be announcing more exciting routes very soon.

“Milan remains firmly in our plans. We naturally wish Aeroitalia well with their existing and domestic routes at this time."

The airport previously had a route to Milan through Ryanair, before the budget airline pulled its four flights a week during the Covid pandemic in winter 2021.