Central European budget carrier Wizz Air is to venture into London Southend operations with three routes to Romania and Lithuania.

The airline has reached an agreement for the services with Southend airport operator Stobart Group.

Stobart states that Wizz will open connections to Bucharest and Sibiu in Romania, as well as the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, over the course of October-November this year.

Wizz will operate the links with Airbus A320s.

Southend airport has gradually expanded its route network through budget operators EasyJet and Ryanair, as well as other airlines such as Air Malta and Flybe.

Stobart says the agreement with Wizz takes its overall destination count to more than 40. "This is part of our plan to become London's next big airport," it adds.

Southend's operator is aiming to reach 5 million annual passengers by February 2023, compared with 1.5 million in 2018.

Source: FlightGlobal.com