Early years

The airfield was established by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was the largest flying ground in Essex, with the greatest number of units. In May 1915, the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) took over until 4 June 1916, when it became RFC Rochford. It was designated as night fighter station and many sorties were flown against Zeppelin airship raiders, including LZ38 on 31 May 1915. Around 1919, the station closed and reverted to farmland, which it remained as until 1933 when Southend Borough Council bought the land.

The site was officially opened as a municipal airport on 18 September 1935 by the Under-Secretary of State for Air, Sir Philip Sassoon, who arrived in his de Havilland Leopard Moth.

In 1939, the Air Ministry requisitioned the airfield and it was known as RAF Rochford during the Second World War as a satellite airfield. It became a base for fighter squadrons comprising Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane as well as Bristol Blenheim aircraft. By 28 October 1940, RAF Rochford had been renamed RAF Southend, no longer being a satellite of Hornchurch, although they still had Fighter Control at the base. A day later, 264 Squadron arrived for night fighter duties equipped with the Boulton Paul Defiant. Many of the 50 pillboxes that were designed to protect the airport from paratrooper landings still survive, as does the underground defence control room, which is near to Southend Flying Club. A further 20 or so pillboxes also remain in the surrounding countryside.

Canewdon, 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of the airport, was the location of one of the Second World War Chain Home radar stations. The 360 ft-high (110 m) transmitter tower at Canewdon was relocated to the Marconi works at Great Baddow in the 1950s.

Post-war

In the 1950s, three new runways were added, enabling commercial flights for passengers and cargo. Runway 6/24 (now runway 5/23) was extended to 1,645 m (5,397 ft) in 1960, while the third runway was removed.

During the 1960s, Southend became third busiest airport in the UK. In 1967, it served 692,686 passengers; the same year, it had its first fatal crash.

1970s decline

At the end of February 1972, Channel Airways, which had its hub and headquarters at Southend, ceased operations.

In the 1970s, the proximity of housing on nearby roads, as well as St Laurence Church on Eastwoodbury Lane less than 100 m (330 ft) from the runway prevented expansion. The airport's decline accelerated as jet aircraft were unable to use the runway due to its short length. As flights were withdrawn, engineering and maintenance became a more important part of airport operations.

1993: Regional Airports Ltd

In 1993, after the airport had been losing money for many years, Southend Borough Council sold the lease to the airport to Regional Airports Ltd. (RAL), operator of Biggin Hill Airport. London Southend Airport Co. Ltd. was formed to operate the airport which was re-branded as "London Southend Airport" with the term "Municipal" dropping from the title.

In 2001, a debate centred on the possible relocation of the Grade I listed St Laurence and All Saints Church further away from the side of the main runway. The proposal was dropped after the planning application was rejected by Southend Council in 2003, and a compromise scheme was implemented resulting in the installation of new barriers across Eastwoodbury Lane and requiring slightly shorter licensed runway lengths once safety areas had been added. These changes allowed passenger flights to be restarted, although the runway length still largely curtailed the potential range and payloads for passenger flights, and scheduled airline utilisation was low, until the March 2012 runway extension opened.

Flightline was an airline formed in 1989 headquartered at Southend, where they also had a maintenance/engineering base for their own and third party aircraft. They mainly operated British Aerospace 146 aircraft on ad-hoc charters, and an Avro RJ100 regional jet with which they operated a regular service between Southend and Cologne from 7 June 2006 to 1 December 2008 on behalf of Ford Motor Company as a corporate shuttle. Flightline went into administration on 3 December 2008.

In January 2008, Regional Airports Ltd. put the airport up for sale.

Flybe operated a once weekly summer-only service to Jersey using Dash 8 aircraft, ending in 2011.

2008: Stobart Group

The lease on the airport was bought on 2 December 2008 by the Stobart Group for £21 million, becoming part of the Stobart Air division of the Stobart Group, which also operates Carlisle Airport.

Following council consultation with the local population, a planning application to extend the usable runway length by 300 m (980 ft) to 1,799 m (5,902 ft) and upgrade navigational and lighting aids, was submitted to Southend Borough Council 13 October 2009. Planning permission was granted 20 January 2010.

Initially subject to an Article 14 Direction, after due consideration by the Government this was withdrawn 19 March 2010, meaning it would not be subject to a Public Inquiry.