Seventy two hours after four people lost their lives in a crash at Southend airport, the terminal is reopening to passengers.
Four easyJet flights are expected to land at the Essex airport on Wednesday evening. A full service of departures and arrivals is expected from Thursday 17 July.
Shortly before 4pm on Sunday 13 July, an air ambulance bound for the Netherlands crashed immediately after take off. The aircraft was a twin-turboprop Beechcraft B200 Super King Air.
Witnesses told of seeing a “fireball”, while images of fire and black smoke were shared on social media.
Both pilots, a doctor and a nurse – named as Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz – died in the accident. They had dropped off a patient in Southend and were returning to the Netherlands.
After the tragedy, all operations were immediately suspended, with inbound planes diverting to Gatwick and Stansted.
Southend airport has remained closed, with easyJet running some of the planned flights from Gatwick.
An airport spokesperson said: “London Southend Airport is today partially reopening for a small number of flights, following Sunday’s tragic air accident and subsequent closure.
“Four easyJet flights will land at London Southend Airport this evening (Wednesday 16 July). Eastern Airways will also operate an empty positioning flight.”
The aim is to get aircraft in position for the resumption of normal airline operations from Thursday morning.
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “As London Southend airport has now partially reopened, four inbound flights this evening are scheduled to operate to the airport and our full flying programme is planned to operate to and from the airport tomorrow.
“Our thoughts remain with those affected by the tragic accident.”
The Southend airport spokesperson added: “Throughout the course of this week, we have continued to support the air accident investigation team as they carry out their work.
“Our airport staff and wider team are doing all they can to help during this incredibly difficult time, and will of course be on-hand to assist passengers as we return to service. The understanding and kindness shown by our local community has been incredible, and we are grateful for their support.”
The first departure on Thursday morning is planned to be an easyJet flight to Malaga at 6.30am.
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