On Monday 20th July, Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, and James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, attended a virtual meeting with Kelly Tolhurst MP, Minister for Aviation. During the meeting they raised a number of issues of concern to local residents regarding the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on Southend Airport.

Sir David and James highlighted the impact on the airport of the recent announcement by easyJet that they had started a consultation into the closure of their Southend base. In response the Minister pledged that the government would help the airport in whatever way it could and more importantly support the 185 Southend easyJet employees who are facing the loss of their jobs.

Kelly Tolhurst stressed the importance of regional airports and provided reassurances that she very much wanted Southend Airport to continue to operate viably and contribute to regional transport networks, whilst also highlighting the opportunities for the airport that would be provided by the UK leaving the European Union. During the meeting the Minister agreed to look at what could be done to ensure that night flights did not impact upon the health and wellbeing of local residents. Finally, she assured that at an appropriate time she would visit Southend Airport.