In summer 2025 Liverpool John Lennon Airport handled a record number of passengers and now, with schools out until September, the airport expects numbers to be even bigger. Tony McDonough reports
Between the start of the school summer holidays and the end of August Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) expects to handle almost 930,000 passengers – a record and 7% higher than last year.
Despite the UK’s recent good weather and continued concerns across the aviation industry over the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, Liverpool has continued to see passenger numbers hold up well.
In 2025 a record 5.6m passed through LJLA and almost 2.7m passengers used the airport in the first six months of the year – a 2% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Thousands of passengers from across the North West and North Wales are expected to jet off abroad from Liverpool for their main holiday over the coming weeks, taking advantage of a wide choice of destinations.
Mediterranean and sunshine resorts dominate what is likely to be the top 10 most popular destinations from Liverpool over the summer, with flights to Alicante, Palma, Malaga, Faro, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Barcelona and Dalaman amongst the busiest.
High volumes of passenger traffic are also expected to destinations closer to home including Dublin and Belfast.
Management continues to remind travellers to allow plenty of time to pass through the Airport during peak periods, recommending that passengers arrive at the Airport two to three hours before their scheduled departure time and to also think carefully about items placed in hold luggage.
The Civil Aviation Authority is currently reminding passengers to “pack right for a safe flight” as the number of safety incidents caused by lithium batteries on flights is on the rise.
Items such as power banks must not be placed in checked-in luggage stowed in the aircraft hold, but be taken into the cabin as hand luggage, to enable swift action to be taken if they start to overheat.
Installation of the latest generation security equipment last year means that all passengers departing from Liverpool can leave their liquids and large electronic items such as laptops/tablets etc in their hand luggage.
There is no longer a need for a clear plastic bag to keep liquids in. However, all liquids are still limited to 100ml.
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Robin Tudor, head of PR at LJLA, said: “While it has been a particularly challenging time for the aviation industry in recent months, passenger numbers here have remained higher than last year and we expect a very busy summer holiday period once again with the potential to break last year’s record numbers of passengers.
“We look forward to welcoming thousands of the region’s holidaymakers from across the North West and North Wales over the coming weeks, all choosing to fly from Liverpool and take advantage of our award-winning airport customer experience.”