FLYBE has announced new flights from Southend to Dublin.

The airline will start daily flights from Southend Airport to Dublin, with one-way fares from £29.99, from October 26.

Paul Simmons, Flybe’s chief commercial officer, said: “Today's announcement is a clear indication of our appetite to maintain momentum with our measured plans for growth. We are committed to increasing connectivity, both for business and leisure passengers across the UK regions and Europe and are doing so by using a rigorous profitability analysis and utilising our strict route assessment model.

“Dublin is a key European hub providing convenient onward travel to the US in particular. We forecast that our new services to Ireland’s capital will more than double our passenger growth into and out of its airport.

“We are of course pleased to add this destination to our services from London Southend and will be monitoring its success closely with an eye towards possible expansion.”

Aer Lingus, which already offers flights from Southend to Dublin, with connections to New York, Boston, Chicago, Orlando, Toronto and San Francisco, will reduce flights from 16 a week during the summer to five a week during the winter.