London Southend Airport has highlighted details of its performance and commitments over the last 12 months, including improvements its has made and how cargo operations have helped sustain hundreds of local jobs at the airport.
“As the airport begins to recover and grow, so too does the challenge of sustainability, which has perhaps never before been so resonant,” said Glyn Jones, CEO, London Southend Airport.
In its 2020-21 annual report the airport reveals that while passenger flights were placed on hold at various intervals in line with government guidance cargo operations continued throughout to deliver essential items as the pandemic resulted in restrictions to high street shopping. Cargo flights also supported the flow of essential medical supplies and items for ‘at-risk’ residents who were quarantined at home and helped support hundreds of local jobs, in the cargo centre, within the wider airport operation and the external supply chain.
And while employment at the airport company fell over the past year by 21%, with recovery now underway several roles are currently under recruitment including security, air traffic control and functional management, with an additional focus on apprenticeships.
When it comes to the airport’s environmental agenda, air quality measured around the airport perimeter continues to be well below government targets. In addition 21% of the airport’s electricity comes from renewable sources and in February 2021, the airport achieved Level One status in the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
The number of residents complaining about noise fell from 708 to 431 with 64% of all noise complaints deriving from 20 addresses, thanks to targets being met, which require over 50% of aircraft movements to operate over Rochford and fewer than 50% of landings over Leigh.
Despite the challenges that have come with the pandemic, the airport has continued to work within its agreed S106 controls and utilised the time wisely to make improvements. And although challenges remain the airport’s position, serving short haul, leisure travel demand in London and the South East, places it well to return to strong growth in the medium term, as the impacts of the pandemic recede and consumer confidence in international travel returns.
“At London Southend Airport, we have used the operational space COVID-19 has opened up to prepare our Environmental Action Plan and Connecting Community Commitment,” added Jones. “We plan to build on the progress already made, and as has always been the case, our guiding principle is sustainable growth. Whilst growth in 2020 was rendered unachievable by COVID-19, greater levels of sustainability in our activities remained entirely possible. We continue to pursue the twin objectives of growth and management of the environmental impacts of that growth, as we move through 2021 and beyond.”
