Lesser-known London airport brings back flights to ‘legendary’ Spanish island

One of London’s secondary airports will soon be connected to a popular Spanish destination known for hippie culture and legendary nightclubs.

Sunshine lovers are to be offered even more choice next year with yet another link set to open between the capital and Ibiza, the iconic Balearic island.

The new route is to launch not from the congested hubs of Heathrow and Gatwick, or even Ryanair-dominated Stansted, but from London Southend.

The new service is operated by low-cost giant EasyJet, which also has a large presence at both Gatwick and Luton.

Ibiza is a popular choice with young, cost-conscious travellers looking for sun-soaked beaches and vibrant nightlife.

Flights will run twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from April 29.

EasyJet will also start services to the German city of Munich from the Essex airport next September and will resume its Jersey flight next year, too.

This will bring the destinations served from the hub to 24.

Around 41 miles outside of the capital, Southend is served by a 55-minute train service from Liverpool Street, which runs around every 20 minutes.

The airport saw rapid growth under the ownership of the Stobart Group, and handled a peak of two million passengers before the pandemic.

Last year, the facility was acquired by a new consortium, while the airport received a blow following the collapse of Eastern Airways earlier this year.

EasyJet is also adding another Spanish destination to its large Gatwick operation: Reus, an airport serving the Catalan city of Tarragona and the Costa Dorada.

Kevin Doyle, country manager for EasyJet UK, said: ‘The addition of these popular Spanish destinations, Reus and Ibiza, to our networks and Holidays Portfolio from London Gatwick and London Southend provides our customers with even more choice and great value when booking their European holidays next summer.

‘As the UK’s largest airline, we’re always aiming to make travel easy, providing great value to Europe’s most loved destinations, and we can’t wait to welcome more customers on board.’

Spain remains the top overseas destination for British tourists, with 17.8 million visits made to the Iberian country in 2024, according to ONS figures.

However, a growing backlash against overtourism has provoked protests in several favourite spots over the last few years, as locals hit back against the pressure placed on the economy, including a shortage of homes caused by holiday lets and amid stagnant wages in the hospitality sector.

In June, protesters in holiday hotspots across southern Europe swarmed the streets to condemn overtourism in an unprecedented show of unity.

Thousands attended marches in the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, while events also took place in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, as well as Venice and Genoa, in northwest Italy.

The Southern Europe Against Touristification coalition, comprised of activists from across the continent, sought to highlight the impact of mass tourism and how it is driving residents from their hometowns.

But demonstrators and tourism experts agree that holidaymakers aren’t the problem. The real enemy, they told our Travel Editor Alice Murphy, is the people profiting from it.

As one organiser in the Basque city of San Sebastián said, ‘people who go on vacation to one place or another are not our enemies…our enemies are those who speculate on housing, who exploit workers and those who are profiting handsomely from the touristification of our cities.’

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