EasyJet is pressing ahead with plans to provide a full summer schedule from Southend Airport next year amid hints the airline is considering the introduction of more routes.

Southend Airport only resumed passenger flights last month after finding itself in the wilderness throughout the pandemic.

easyJet had quit the airport in the summer of 2021 under the strain of the pandemic, after nearly a decade of serving dozens of destinations from the seaside town.

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Budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air soon followed suit, leaving the airport reeling, with no passenger flight operators.

However, the return of easyJet, with flights to Majorca, Malaga and Faro, has residents dreaming of a return to the airport’s lofty pre-pandemic heights.

The budget airline giant has since confirmed it will be running flights until the end of October, and will resume them again from March 2023 for a full summer season.

An airport spokesman said: “easyJet flights for this summer are already on sale until end of October and for summer 2023 from March."

The spokesman hinted keen holidaymakers should “keep your fingers crossed” for new destinations and airlines that may be announced in the coming months.

The return of the airline – one of Europe’s largest running nearly 1,000 routes to more than 150 airports across 35 countries – is seen as a massive coup for the airport’s recovery.

Southchurch councillor Dan Nelson said: “We all want to see the airport get back to where it was before Covid and this is a great step.

“It’s not a surprise as Southend is a fantastic place, so of course easyJet wants to continue doing business here.

“With the firm’s continued support it won’t be long before the airport is back operating at the level where it belongs.”

In a poll run by the Echo, customers said they were eager to see a return of flights to summer favourites such as Alicante, Barcelona, Lisbon, Prague and Amsterdam.

An airport spokesman previously told the Echo: “We want to develop a sustainable airport that works for our community.

"We are focused on discussions with short-haul airline operators.

“We aim to get back to pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.”