Special report: Liverpool John Lennon Airport risks falling behind other UK regional airports without a big improvement in local transport connectivity, its chief executive warns business leaders. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) chief executive John Irving has issued an impassioned plea to city region business leaders to get behind the push for better connectivity.

Since the dark days of COVID, when the aviation sector largely ground to a halt, LJLA’s recovery has been phenomenal. Backed by its three main airlines – Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 – the airport is getting closer to all-time record numbers of passengers.

LJLA handled 5.08m passengers in 2024. This is the highest number since 2011 when it carried 5.3m passengers. It is also the first time it has gone above 5m since 2019 when it handled 5.045m. Its highest ever figure was 5.5m passengers in 2007.

In its most recent fiscal year, the 12 months to March 31, 2025, LJLA handled 5.2m passengers, contributing to a 30% rise in revenues to £55m with pre-tax profits coming in at just under £10m.

August 2025 was the busiest month in the 92-year history of the airport with more than 616,000 passengers handled during the peak summer period. This smashed the previous record of 576,000 set a month earlier in July. That momentum has continued into the autumn.

Last week easyJet announced it will base a ninth aircraft at LJLA from summer 2026, taking the number of routes up to 39. It also announced another two routes from Liverpool – to Lisbon and Paphos.

And on Thursday, business leaders gathered at an event at the Museum of Liverpool, organised by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, to hear Irish carrier Ryanair announce another three routes and a sixth aircraft at Liverpool from next summer.

Each aircraft leads to 180 extra direct jobs and supports an estimated 2,000 jobs in the wider city region economy. It is estimated LJLA contributes around £340m in GVA value to the city region each year. John Irving says this can go higher – but wider support is needed.

At the event Ryanair’s chief commercial officer, Jason McGuinness, raised the issue of Air Passenger Duty (APD), a levy on all international flights, which airline claims is a major disincentive to invest more into its UK operations.

John Irving agreed and also asked for the support of business leaders in the city region to lobby for better transport connectivity for LJLA. He warned that the current transport connections are an obstacle to maintaining its momentum over the coming years.

Addressing the audience, he said: “People in business have a big role to play in terms of conversations with local Government, councils, the city region. We are still missing so much in terms of connectivity just to get to the airport.

“We are going to drive back today from here (in the city centre) to the airport and that will probably take us 40 minutes. That is crazy. It is about having another voice. This is our region and our airport and we need to fight for it.

“More voices are key and you guys do a good job at that but there is so much more we probably need to do over the next few years, whether that is on APD or connectivity, otherwise we as an airport may lag behind others.

“For people who fly in here for the first time their natural inclination when they land at an airport in a big city is ‘where is the train or where is the tram/metro?’.

“And the answer is ‘we don’t have that but just get on that bus. It will take you 45 minutes and stop 16 times. That is not good enough.”

There are a number of bus routes that call at LJLA and travel to Liverpool city centre. However, they make multiple stops and journey times in heavy traffic can be more than an hour.

Another alternative is to take a 20-minute bus ride to Liverpool Parkway station which offers multiple rail connections to Liverpool city centre and other North West destinations. It is also on the mainline to London.

There is a proposal to build a high-speed rail link between Liverpool and Manchester city centre and Manchester Airport. In its present form it doesn’t necessarily help LJLA but John says a rethink of the project could see a benefit.

City region Mayor Steve Rotheram is to invest in a fleet of ‘Glider’ vehicles that will come into operation in 2028. They are battery-powered ‘rapid transport’ vehicles that will link the city centre with the airport and the Liverpool and Everton FC stadiums.

They can carry around 30% more passengers than an average double decker bus. They look like trams but have wheels and are designed to operate on roads, running in dedicated lanes.

“Liverpool South Parkway is a great station and it is well connected but it is not an airport train station,” said John.

“The new Glider will help and we are supporters of that. I don’t think it is going to solve every connection problem but it is probably as good as we are going to get for the foreseeable future.

“We want to make sure there is a non-stop connection to South Parkway and a non-stop connection to the city. We do want more connectivity for the airport. The ideal is some level of direct metro or tram but that is very hard to deliver.

“That isn’t a criticism of the Mayor – it is just a really tough and expensive project. If we would have got that 25 years ago it would have really benefited us and the city region.

“The glider will definitely help. It is rapid transport and it is easier to get on with bags. You don’t want to get on a public bus with bags.”

In October infrastructure fund manager Ancala became the majority shareholder of LJLA, buying Peel Group’s 47.1% stake and taking its shareholding to 94.2%. This saw Peel exit the business after 28 years.

Having a single majority shareholder puts the airport in a “good place”, according to John, and gives the business a solid platform for its next phase of growth. Although LJLA itself directly employs 260 people, there are around 2,500 employed across the airport estate.

In the past year there has been significant investment into the departure lounge and its hospitality outlets, as well into an expanded executive lounge. One of the upcoming investments is to increase the number of gates to accommodate airline expansion.

In September a survey from consumer bible Which? gave LJLA a further boost. In 2022, 2023 and 2024 the Which? survey of almost 6,000 passengers rated LJLA as the top UK airport for passenger satisfaction.

This year it has been narrowly beaten into second place by Exeter Airport but still way ahead of all the country’s larger airports.

“In 2024 we just crept over our pre-COVID numbers,” added John. “Now, in 2025, we have not only gone past where we were in 2019 but we are not far off being as big as we have ever been at Liverpool. That is down to investment from airlines such as Ryanair.

“We have aspirations to grow even bigger and to do that we need the support of the people in this room, the city region and our airline partners.

“LJLA is in a competitive environment in the North West alone, never mind the UK and Europe. But we have fought our corner over the past years and we have been the fastest-growing UK airport for several months in a row.

“That will continue. We are there to connect people. We want to connect people into Liverpool and to other places. Now we are back to more than 70 destinations. Those routes have to work though. They have to work for all parties.

“Ryanair is now our biggest airline – 42%. The biggest they have ever been here. A sixth aircraft is an amazing thing to bring here for the airport and for the city region. It is a big show of faith in what we are doing.

“In total we will have 20 based aircraft here in 2026 which is a record for LJLA. 174 weekly departures from Ryanair alone which is an incredible amount from one airline.”

And in a plea to the assembled business people, he said: “It can’t just be me and my team but others who want to see us survive and grow for the next 50 years.

“You can help us become more competitive. We are very good at what we do… but it is a tough market out there.”