London Southend Airport post-pandemic turmoil, DBRS Morningstar report

With global air passenger traffic expected to reach 9.4bn passengers in 2024, exceeding 2019 levels by 2.5% and marking a positive post-pandemic recovery, the recovery period has not been so equal across airports. A DBRS Morningstar report looked at the London Southend Airport (Southend), which found that while it was smallest airport out of London’s six, it had the highest annual passenger growth rate between 2017 and 2019. However, by the end of 2023, its passenger traffic was only about 7% of its 2019 levels. “We believe Southend will continue to face challenges in rebuilding its airline network, which has