FEARS have been raised the expansion of a major London airport could hamper Southend Airport's bid to recover from the pandemic and return to the lofty heights of pre-Covid.

London City Airport has announced plans to increase its passenger numbers by 50 per cent, rising from six million a year to nine million.

The plans come after Southend councillor Kevin Buck posted a worrying photo of a deserted Southend Airport car park earlier this week.

He described it is “rather sad and empty” on Twitter and joined calls for more easyJet flights to be added.

The budget airline is the only one providing passenger flights from Southend at present, flying to Malaga, Faro and Majorca each week.

easyJet, Ryanair and Whizz Air all pulled out of Southend Airport in response to the pandemic, with the latter two yet to return.

Bosses have insisted they are working hard on adding more routes in a bid to get passengers back to Southend Airport.

But Mr Buck, Tory shadow cabinet member for transport, admits the recovery plan could be hindered if the expansion of London City Airport gets the green light.

“There is a risk people will go to London City Airport instead and the expansion could impact Southend Airport,” he said.

“If this plan goes ahead, our airport will need to try even harder to catch up as it is competition for us.

“If Southend Airport takes a long time to get back to normality, there is a danger we could be left behind.

“We really need to see some action at the airport soon.”

Martin Terry, Independent deputy leader of Southend Council, added: “There is potentially a risk that the plans for London City Airport could affect our airport badly but I do believe Southend Airport offers something unique and good, such as quicker travel and the fact it’s smaller.

“There is a possibility for London City Airport could take some business from Southend Airport but I do believe our airport will and is recovering well.

“Southend Airport will need to be watching over its back the whole time and it is a very competitive market and always has been.”

Southend Airport was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time the Echo went to print.