Southend Airport bosses are looking to tap into the London business commuter market by suggesting you can be airborne from Canary Wharf in an hour.

Bosses at Stobart Air, which runs the airport, took part in their own ‘time trial’, where they drove from Canary Wharf to the terminal, clocking up a 55-minute journey time.

For private business jets, the airport has an average time of five minutes from car park to a plane, the airport says commuters could be flying after just over an hour of travel from the capital.

The airport’s head of business aviation, Hannah Lo Bao, said: “This has been a great bit of fun, but it also makes a serious point as it banishes the misconception that London Southend is a long way out of the City – this proves once and for all we absolutely are not.”

The time trial took place between 9am and 5pm on Wednesday, February 3, fuelled by a Range Rover supplied by the Beadles Group in Southend.

To make the challenge fair, the vehicle had to observe speed restrictions and limits whilst heading to the airport with independent photographers on board capturing images of landmarks and sign posts to prove that each vehicle had followed the pre-agreed routes.

Another time trial on the day clocked up 55 minutes travel time to Luton Airport, but Southend Airport bosses say their terminal gets people through much quicker.

Ms Lo Bao added: “The Executive Handling facility at London Southend Airport is the smart business option as we can offer so much more that the other outer London airports cannot.

“We are open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, no slots required, direct ramp access for vehicle, better departure and arrival routes reduced flight time and less fuel burn, 16-minutes in helicopter to central London, a train station on site with up to 8 trains per hour to Liverpool Street in just 53-minutes, the list goes on. London Southend is a winner all round.”

It comes after the airport posted passengers of just over 900,000 last year – down on just over one million in 2014, and two record-breaking years before that.