TRAIN operator c2c could introduce a shuttle bus service from its stations to Southend Airport.

The airport has a station on the Greater Anglia line between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria, but c2c could introduce a service to allow holidaymakers to use the Fenchurch Street line.

It is not known which station it would travel from, but a bus from Westcliff, for example, would take only ten minutes to reach the airport in normal traffic.

Both c2c and Southend Council confirmed they had been in discussion with the airport over the shuttle bus.

A c2c spokesman said: “We always work closely with Southend Airport, and have discussed options. We are always open to ideas that boost local transport links.”

Martin Terry, Southend councillor responsible for transport, added: “One of my bugbears is that early morning and late evening flights do not connect with the rail line, which is ridiculous.

So we’ve been talking about offering some kind of coach from a c2c station. There are 26 engineering days on Greater Anglia where the lines are shut, meaning passengers need some sort of alternative to make it to the airport by rail, so we’ve got a big issue regarding lack of service.”

The news comes after the Independent newspaper named Southend as the worst of the country’s 23 major airports for public transport connectivity.

The newspaper rated the nation’s airports’ public transport links on low fares, journey times, and waiting times. It criticised Southend for its high ticket prices on Greater Anglia and its greater distance from London compared to other airports.

Stobart Aviation chief executive Glyn Jones said: “We have to balance the results of this survey against the fact that London Southend Airport is able to offer its passengers a great and unique ‘simply easier’ service that includes a train station just 100 paces from the terminal – there are no buses, long walks, multiple stairs, escalators or interminable queues, that people are experiencing at many other London airports.

“The name of the airport is London Southend – therefore we should also be judged on howpeople in that town, and the wider Essex area, access the airport and not just on how to reach us from London.”

Despite the Independent’s poor ranking for Southend, the newspaper said the airport was “remarkably passenger-friendly, with an easy walk to and from a dedicated station” while the high train fares were offset by lower air fares and the airport had no congestion.

Greater Anglia spokesman Rebecca Richardson said: “Southend Airport is a young airport and doesn’t have the same kind of history that some others with railway connections have.

“The pricing difference between c2c and Greater Anglia dates back to the time when the line was nationalised. The problem came from privatisation when the ticket prices on the c2c line were kept artificially low to boost travel on that line. Now they rise incrementally and c2c is always going to be behind Greater Anglia.”