Southend welcomes 500th new employee as it is named fastest growing airport in Europe
The milestone new starter is the appropriately named Stuart Holliday, who has just become the new Cleaning Manager at the Essex terminal. The 37-year old father of two from Wickford is in charge of a team of 20 people which is responsible for keeping the terminal building clean and tidy, as well as the easyJet and Aer Lingus planes which are based at London Southend.
Stuart says “My family is from Carlisle, where Stobart has a base, so I have always been really interested in the company and been aware of their reputation as great people to work for – so I was really thrilled when they got involved in London Southend Airport and started checking the website for vacancies. I was absolutely delighted when I got this job as I really wanted to be part of an expanding new enterprise and help it grow – and now I am. I’ve loved my first few days in the job, every day if different and it is a really exciting place to work.”
This comes shortly after The International Air Transport Association (IATA) included London Southend Airport within its classification of the Metropolitan Area of London – meaning the airport is now officially London Southend to the rest of the world so whenever anyone from Malaga to Orlando wants to fly to London, they will automatically be offered Southend as an option alongside the five other official London airports. London Southend Airport has also just demonstrated almost 1,500% passenger growth in June* making it the fastest growing airport in Europe. This is hot on the heels of a new easyJet survey that shows London Southend Airport customer satisfaction is sky high, with 9 out of 10 passengers saying they were satisfied with their overall experience.
London Southend Airport Managing Director Alastair Welch says “Our 500th new member of staff at London Southend is further evidence of the role the redeveloped airport is now playing in supporting the regeneration of the local and wider economy.”
Hugh Aitken, UK Commercial Manager commented “Congratulations to London Southend Airport on the appointment of the 500th staff member and our best wishes to the new recruit. The airport has gone from strength to strength since the launch of easyJet’s 10 routes from the new terminal and we‘re delighted to be a key part of the airport’s growing success.”
Commenting on the announcement, Aer Arann’s Interim Chief Executive Seán Brogan said, “On behalf of Aer Lingus Regional I would like to sincerely congratulate London Southend Airport on the appointment of its 500th new staff member and indeed on all of its achievements to date. Aer Lingus Regional is proud to be part of the redevelopment of London Southend Airport by providing important connectivity between London Southend and Ireland and also onwards connectivity on Aer Lingus services to the USA. I’m delighted to confirm that our Aer Lingus Regional services to Dublin and Waterford are performing well and we are confident that passenger numbers will continue to grow in the coming months ahead.”
