It was party time for Easyjet staff and passengers as the first flight from Southend to Malta touched down on Sunday morning.

The airline launched a route directly from Southend Airport to Malta and is confident it will prove to be a big hit.

Served by Easyjet’s 186-seat A320 aircraft, Easyjet expects to carry more than 30,000 passengers on the route in its first year of operation.

Sophie Dekkers, Easyjet Director of the UK Market, said: “We are really pleased to have expanded our route offering from Southend Airport with the addition of this new service to Malta.

“It’s already proving very popular for this winter.”