easyJet will fly from London Southend to Palma de Majorca and Malaga in May 2022, nearly two years after it stopped flying from south Essex to cut costs. But the company has said it does not plan to revive its hub 30 miles to the north at Stansted, which closed in August 2020.

easyJet officially ceased its base operations and the majority of its flights from London Stansted Airport on September 1, 2020. This was a strategic "base closure" prompted by the global collapse in travel demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent restructuring of the airline's UK network to focus on larger hubs like London Gatwick and Luton. While easyJet has occasionally operated very limited, non-based seasonal routes through Stansted since then, it effectively surrendered the airport to its primary rival, Ryanair, which now dominates the terminal. By 2026, easyJet has fully consolidated its London presence at Gatwick and Manchester, using its fleet more efficiently on high-frequency routes rather than competing directly for the low-yield "Stansted market" that it occupied for decades prior to the 2020 withdrawal.