A CASH-STRAPPED airline has scrapped almost 300 flights to and from Southend Airport.

Bosses at Aer Arann say they cannot afford to run the twice-daily service between Southend and Galway, Ireland, this winter.

The decision means all passengers expecting to fly to the Irish city between between October 31 and April 1 will instead be handed a refund and an apology.

Paul Schutz, the airline’s chief executive, said: “We sincerely regret having to make this decision and we particularly regret the impact this will have on our customers.

“The reality, however, is that we are not yet a year out of examinership and not in a position to continue to operate routes that are not commercially viable.”

It is not yet clear whether the airline will resume flights on April 1, but Mr Schutz said he was hopeful.

He added: “We are doing what is best for business at this time and we can work on the potential for a resumption of services in 2012.”

Aer Arann became the first airline to ally itself with Southend Airport’s multi-million pound expansion plans earlier this year.

It started operating the routes to Galway and Waterford in March, announcing ambitions to cater for up to 300,000 passengers a year.

However, the airline was already in financial strife after being put into examinership – an Irish law which allows firms to trade their way out of trouble – in August 2010.

It had racked up losses of 6million euros in seven months and was in danger of running out of cash when Stobart Air, which owns Southend Airport, stepped in to bail it out last October.

The company invested an unknown amount in Aer Arann and announced plans to bring flights to Southend shortly afterwards.

The sudden cancellations are the first set-back to rock the airport since it started its expansion project.

Bosses had been enjoying a bumper period of success with the announcement of a ten-year deal with easyJet this summer.

Alastair Welch, the airport’s managing director, declined to comment on the matter.

THE pruning of trees in the flightpath of Southend airport has caused concerns about low-flying aircraft.

Trees in the council-owned Millennium Park, next to the Cottage Nursery, Prince Avenue, Westcliff, near Exford Avenue, have been cut back.

Airport bosses say because the trees could obstruct planes, it is a legal requirement for the work to be carried out by council workmen.

Councillors and residents are worried it suggests planes will fly low over the densely-populated homes in Eastwood, Leigh and Westcliff.

However, airport bosses have said there is nothing to worry about.

Prittlewell ward’s Lib Dem councillor Ric Morgan said: “It does seem a little bit mysterious.

“If they’re trimming trees it does suggest the planes will be pretty low over the houses.”

Mr Morgan also said he was annoyed not to have been notified about the work, but a council spokesman said it was not standard practice to inform ward councillors if trees are pruned.

Resident Tony Hall, from Westcliff, said “This beggars belief.

“Is this another case of the council falling over backwards for Stobart?”

An airport spokeswoman said all airports are legally required by the Civil Aviation Authority to address any “obstacles that infringe the safeguarded surfaces.”

He added: “These surfaces must be protected to maintain the safe operation of aircraft.

“We periodically review infringements and where trees have grown to become infringements, they are trimmed.

“This practice is carried out at every licensed aerodrome, including Southend.”

As part of the lease arrangements, agreed between the airport and landowners Southend Council in March, planes landing and taking off will be directed over Rochford, in the opposite direction from Southend, between the hours of 11pm and 6.30am.

But this restriction will not apply to day flights.

The spokeswoman added that any planes coming from the Southend direction will follow a new, steeper approach angle, which is being introduced when the runway is extended to avoid disturbing neighbours.

The rapidly-expanding airport has just signed a landmark deal, as revealed in the Echo, with easyJet, which will see the company carry 800,000 passengers from Southend in its first year.

Bosses hope to eventually cater for two million passengers a year by 2020.

- by a man from Cumbria

Southend Airport expansion challenged again

SOUTHEND Airport is facing yet another challenge to its ambitious runway extension plans – this time through the European courts.

Former aviation consultant Peter Elliott wants to overturn Southend Council’s decision to allow the runway extension, made in January last year and approved last April.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal refused to allow 44-year-old Mr Elliot, from Cumbria, to even apply for a judicial review.

This week, Mr Elliott, along with co-applicants, said he would file applications with the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. The council and the airport have both been served notice.

Mr Elliott would not reveal who the co-applicants were or how many there are, but said they were Southend residents.

Mr Elliott, who is confident of success, said the planning permission given by the council was “unlawful” and he was concerned about residents’ safety.

He also said he wanted to “protect the thousands of residents of Southend and the surrounding area” from the growth of the airport, claiming they faced “grave endangerment, noise, vibration or pollution issues”.

Council bosses think Mr Elliott, who has pursued a number of unsuccessful legal battles against airport owners Stobart, has little chance of success.

John Williams, the council’s head of legal and democratic services, said: “We are aware all of this individual’s attempts to issue proceedings in English courts, have failed – once in the High Court and twice in the Court of Appeal. We have been notified he is now aiming to try two European courts.

“We are confident the European courts will follow the decisions of the English courts, but until these proceedings are resolved, there will regrettably be a cost to be met from the public purse, in defending the council’s position.”

no-one from Southend Airport wished to comment on the issue.

Another attempted judicial review by campaigners Stop Airport Extension Now has proceeded no further than the application stage, and was rejected by two High Court judges. [SAEN is now pursuing an appeal of this decision.]

Mr Elliott is thought to have spent tens of thousands on legal battles against Stobart, some relating to the expansion of Carlisle Airport. Stobart said it had spent £750,000 in legal fees fighting his cases.

A NEW link road being built by bosses at Southend Airport will only open if Eastwoodbury Lane closes, it has emerged.

This week, a two-day public hearing was held into whether it is right for a stopping-up order to go-ahead for Eastwoodbury Lane.

Airport managing director Alastair Welch told the hearing the new $6million link road, between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way, would not open until a stopping-up order for Eastwoodbury Lane was approved.

The new link road is being constructed to replace the part of Eastwoodbury Lane which will be pulled up to make way for the planned runway extension.

After the hearing, he said: “We have not planned for a scenario where both roads would be open at the same time. This may have safety impacts that had not been assessed.

“Their aim was and remains to deliver the consented development as soon as possible to allow the development to complete in time for the Olympics.”

In November, Southend Council gave approval for the link road on the basis that it would benefit the town independently of whether the airport runway extension, then the subject of a judicial review application, went ahead.

Council leader Nigel Holdcroft told members the road would be in place even if the runway is not extended and the old road stayed open.

The council and the airport are both confident the stopping-up order will be given the go-ahead.