Liverpool John Lennon Airport

This airport is one of the UK’s oldest operational airports, first conceived as an idea in 1928. It has just celebrated its 75th Anniversary with the ‘official’ opening ceremony having taken place on 1st July 1933.

Since the Peel Group took control of Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 1997, passenger numbers have increased more than tenfold, approaching 6.5 million passengers using it today. The Airport continues to move up the league table of UK airports (11th largest in 2007) and has been the UK’s fastest growing airport over the past 10 years (CAA passenger statistics for period 1998-2007).

Regular scheduled services are available to almost 60 domestic and European destinations, whilst holiday charter flights with the UK’s top tour operators serve some 11 Mediterranean resorts during the summer. Of most significance though is the fact that Liverpool is a base for Europe’s two largest low cost airlines; Ryanair and easyJet.

easyJet, the popular low cost carrier who began flights from Liverpool in 1997 and now have a base there, signed a 20 year contract with the airport in early 2001. To date they now have eight aircraft based at Liverpool with flights to 18 destinations and carried 2.4 million passengers through JLA in 2007.
Ryanair have operated flights from Dublin to Liverpool since the late 1980’s and recently celebrated 20 years of operations at Liverpool. They are Europe’s largest low cost airline and signed a 10 year agreement with the Airport early in 2002 for route expansion. In November 2004, the Irish carrier announced that Liverpool would see a major expansion of their business and by February 2006, five 189 seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft were based at Liverpool serving 20 destinations in total. In October 2006, Ryanair, announced a further two aircraft would be based at Liverpool and since then many more new routes have been introduced taking their total number of services from Liverpool to over 40. In 2007, Ryanair carried 2.4 million passengers on flights to and from Liverpool.

Other UK and European airlines also operate scheduled services both domestically and into Europe, including Wizz Air and Flybe.

The Airport’s Master Plan to 2030 forecasts that its throughput of passengers in 2015 will be 8.3 million passengers per annum and in 2030 there will be 12.3 million. Forecasts for cargo show that the airport will handle 40,000 tonnes by 2015 and 220,000 tonnes by 2030.

Expansion of the Airport will provide many social and economic benefits for Liverpool and the region. Applying the forecasts for passenger and cargo growth to 2015 and 2030, the airport has the potential to increase direct on site employment numbers from around 2,000 to between 4,000 and 5,000 by 2015 and between 4,500 and 6,700 by 2030. Including off-site employment, the total number of jobs created could reach 11,300 by 2030.

A runway extension is proposed which would comprise building a 314 metre full width runway extension to the east of the existing runway with 150 metre long starter strips at each end. This would give a total effective runway length of 2,750 metres and allow the Airport to serve long haul passenger and freight destinations. The scheme is expected to be constructed in response to demand between 2010 and 2015.

A high quality Eastern Access Transport Corridor (EATC) is proposed that would also accommodate cycle and pedestrian facilities and provide for improved public transport and car based access from the east, set within a landscaped buffer. It would follow a route of about 2 kilometres that would pass to the east of the Speke housing estate and join the Speke Boulevard (A561) to the east adjacent to the Jaguar plant, via the creation of two roundabouts and associated slip roads. The scheme is expected to be needed by around 2015.

A cargo centre is proposed, known as the Oglet World Cargo Centre, which would be located to the south of the existing runway. It would accommodate about 95,000 square metres of warehousing space, including a single unit of approximately 40,000 square metres and require in the order of 10 aircraft stands to be created south of the extended runway served by a new parallel taxiway and two new rapid turn-offs. Vehicular access to the site would be from a spur taken off the EATC. The development will be constructed in phases in line with demand by 2015. An extension to the adjoining Speke Garston Coastal Reserve would accompany the scheme.

The airport is now well served by public transport for both passengers and staff, with a number of bus services linking the airport to Liverpool City Centre and surrounding areas as well as regional links with services to Manchester City Centre. The opening of Liverpool South Parkway rail interchange nearby means that a growing number of regional rail services are also now accessible with regular bus services linking the interchange with the terminal building.

A significant proportion of the employment need at the airport is highly accessible, both in terms of location and skill requirements. However, in order to maximise this accessibility, the airport and a number of its tenants work closely with partners in the local education, training and regeneration areas, including the local JET South Liverpool in order to recruit staff.

The Airport uses the local Partnership for Learning (PfL) centre based at the nearby Jaguar car plant for the provision of most of its training requirements, helping to utilise the services of local training organisations.

The airport makes a significant contribution to the Ocean Gateway objectives, being a major driver for the City Region economy, important employer of local people and a vital facility for the region’s leisure and tourism industry. It also forms a key component of the “SuperPort” concept.