SOUTHEND Airport's bosses turned down a deal with Ryanair as airlines queue up to launch flights.

The finance boss of Stobart Aviation, the airport's parent company, claims 12 airlines want to fly from Southend, joining the likes of EasyJet and Flybe.

Last week the Echo revealed Stobart had reported a 59.8 per cent increase in profits the space of a year, despite passenger numbers being down.

In a report released to shareholders on the London Stock Exchange, the company emphasised its ambition to welcome 2.5million passengers to the airport every year by 2018.

This is well over double the 900,000 passengers reported to have visited the airport in the year ending February 29, but Stobart bosses are confident they can achieve their target.

Speaking to Proactive Investors magazine, chief financial officer Ben Whawell said there was “a pipeline of 12 serious airlines looking at Southend.”

He added: "We could pay Ryanair a load of money right now, but we don’t want to do that. In the long term, we don’t think that’s sustainable.”

Chief executive officer Glyn Jones also told the Evening Standard the company would be luring customers from the City of London with the promise of cheaper business fares.

He said: “This summer will mark our most significant push to attract more London-based holidaymakers and City workers."

He said the company would be advertising on London radio stations “to get across the message that the airport is accessible and quick to reach from the centre of the capital.”

It comes as planned new routes to the Bavarian capital Munich and Osijek in Croatia were moved back a week.

The routes, by Slovenian airline Sea Air, were temporarily removed from the airport’s “new routes” section having initially being advertised as starting from today, but are now listed as beginning from next Monday.

Flights to Munich will run daily, while the route to Osijek will fly via Munich on Sundays and Thursdays.

Captain Grant Annals, director of the airline’s flight operation, said he hoped to add flights to the historic Slovenian city of Maribor in the near future.