The new services start on May 1 with flights to Cologne, Lyon and Milan. These are followed on May 4 by Budapest and Venice on May 7, Prague on May 8 and Vienna and Reus on May 10. Dubrovnik begins on May 16 and Figari on May 19, followed by Perpignan on May 25 and Zadar on May 27. They take the Essex airport’s total number of routes to 28.

Southend airport is owned by the Stobart Group, which has invested £140 million since acquiring it in 2008 and the group’s airline, Stobart Air, will operate the flights under its franchise deal with Flybe. The routes will be flown by two 118-seat Embraer 195 jets, which will be based at Southend. Lead-in fares are £29.99 one way.

Glyn Jones, the airport’s chief executive, said it was hoped to tap into the weekend break market, attracting passengers from the capital: “Our recently completed customer research shows that there is a real desire for more city breaks to cater for the emerging ‘weekender’ trend. With six trains an hour, London Southend Airport is just 45 minutes by train from the east London hub of Stratford; it means you could be in our departure lounge in under an hour. We make escaping London for the weekend as quick and easy as it can be.”

Warwick Brady, deputy Stobart Group chief executive added: “Southend airport is perfectly placed to serve London’s growing travel market especially in the face of the other London airport capacity constraints.

"This is also part of the next stage of our strategy to build new passenger routes and further the development of our regional franchise with Flybe, and proves that our Aviation division has the capacity and ability to capitalise on the growing demand in the south-east for a very efficient airport making it quick and easy for customers.”