AN EASYJET boss is convinced the firm’s relationship with Southend Airport will continue to grow - despite annual figures showing a downturn in profits.

Neil Slaven, the airline’s commercial manager, also revealed flights to a brand new “beach destination” were on the way.

And he said there will soon be two extra flights to both Alicante and Palma each week - and one extra flight each week to Faro, Portugal.

An upbeat Mr Slaven said: “We have a really good relationship with Southend Airport and that continues to grow.

“We’ve added two new destinations in the last two months, to Charles De Gaulle in Paris and Gran Canaria and they have exceeded our expectations in terms of profit.

“With Southend Airport we find that once people go there they return time and time again.

“It’s small and hassle free airport and once they use it the first time they never look back.”

Mr Slaven said Easyjet was working with the airport to further increase its popularity.

He said: “We want to raise awareness of Southend Airport in the east London area as people living in the catchment area have a good understanding of it but we would like that to be understood further afield.”

Mr Slaven said the company was optimistic about growth at the airport after carrying 800,000 passengers last year.

He said: “We expect above average growth at Southend with the new routes to Paris and Gran Canaria. We think there will be 10 per cent growth when the new routes kick in.

“Southend Airport is a great asset to the local community and its good to see local stakeholders and the council fully behind it.

Glyn Jones, chief executive of Southend Airport operator Stobart Aviation, was optimistic too. He said: “We have just successfully launched a new winter sun route to Gran Canaria with Easyjet, taking the number of destinations flown with them to 13.

“We are delighted that Easyjet is increasing both capacity and routes for 2017 and look forward continuing to work in partnership with them to continue growing over the years to come.”