THE first scheduled passenger flights from Southend to France in almost 30 years will start operating early next year.

Flywatch Air Services will run five flights a week from Southend Airport to Le Touquet in March, 2008. From there, passengers will have the option of boarding a fast train to Paris.

Flywatch will also run flights to Calais on Saturdays next July and August, and to Bruges, Belgium, from April, 2008.

This could then be followed by regular flights to Rotterdam and eventually, possibly direct flights to Paris and Manchester, too.

Director and chief pilot Tony Gunn, 47, has been based at Southend for 30 years, training private and corporate pilots to fly between Europe and the US. As a result, he already had an office and the aircraft he needed to start commercial flights.

He said: "They do a similar thing out of Lydd airport, on the south coast, and have been successful.

"We decided the time was right. With the Olympics coming up, a scheduled service would work again out of Southend."

Passengers will board a small eight-seater Piper Navajo aircraft and will even get the chance to sit up-front with the pilot, with plenty of space promised for luggage.

A second aircraft, a ten-seater Piper Chieftain, will go into operation later on next year.

Flights to Le Touquet are expected to cost about £90 one-way and £180 return, plus taxes.

Mr Gunn suggested the French town was an ideal destination for a short break or day-trip.

He said: "There are two very good golf courses there, excellent restaurants and it's a beautiful town on the beach."

Carol Smith, 52, of The Chase, Thundersley, flew to Le Touquet from Southend in 1979, before taking the train on to Paris for her honeymoon.

She said: "It was lovely - really convenient. I'd consider using it again because it's even easier than the Eurostar.

"With that, you've got to get over to Kent."

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