easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, has launched its first flight from London Southend to Murcia.

The new service to Murcia, Spain, will operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays during summer with fares starting from £35.24 one-way.

On arrival into Murcia, the inaugural flight was greeted by a surprise water arch salute by the airport fire brigade, a traditional way of celebrating in the aviation industry.

Murcia has some 250 kilometres of beautiful, unspoilt coastline, a year-round average temperature of 17 degrees and more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year – it’s the perfect holiday destination.

It’s renowned for its historic city centre, with traditional tapas bars aplenty easyJet has also launched further Winter 2017 flights for its Southend customers. Passengers can book now for travel until 24 March 2018, which includes the February half-term holiday.

Over 640 easyJet flights are set to take place to and from London Southend Airport between 5 February and 24 March 2018 providing over 100 thousand seats.

Sophie Dekkers, easyJet’s Director – UK Market, said: “We’re delighted to have launched this new route to Murcia from London Southend Airport and we are confident it will be very popular with our passengers. Many people are already starting to plan ahead for their summer holidays and with flights now on sale, they can take advantage of our low fares.

“We have also launched further seats for our winter schedule, enabling customers to book time away for half-time next February.

“We’re seeing more and more people using our services to visit London Southend for both leisure and business trips and we’re keen to continue adding more varied routes to our schedule.”

Glyn Jones, London Southend Airport’s CEO, said: “We are delighted that easyJet is offering another route from London Southend and are sure that Murcia will prove very popular with passengers from Essex and the South East. With excellent access, including our own station, trains to and from London in 45 minutes, unique customer service service and now even more fantastic destinations - it's no surprise that more and more people are choosing London Southend”