From the 1960s through the end of the 1970s, Southend was London's third busiest airport before being surpassed in terms of passenger volume by London Stansted Airport. After being purchased by Stobart Group in 2008, a development program added a connection to central London via a regular rail service running between Liverpool Street Station and Southend Airport Station on the Shenfield-Southend line, continuing on to Southend Victoria.
A small international airport known as London Southend Airport (IATA: SEN, ICAO: EGMC) is located outside of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, 58 kilometers (36 miles) outside of the city of London. The Rochford District and the city of Southend-on-Sea are divided by the airport.
The airport is situated 36 miles (58 kilometres) east of central London, between the town and city centers of Southend-on-Sea and Rochford, 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) north of Southend[1]. It has a single, 1,856-meter (6,089-foot) long asphalt runway that runs on a south-west to north-east axis[12] and can accommodate commercial flights using either the Boeing 757 or the Airbus A321 aircraft.
A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Ordinary Licence issued to Southend Airport permits flights for the public transportation of passengers or for the purpose of providing flying lessons, as determined by the licensee (London Southend Airport Company Limited). Airlines utilize Southend Airport as a backup plan when bad weather or other events force the closure of other London airports because of its great weather record.