Liverpool John Lennon Airport continues to grow its short haul network and believes there is significant potential to grow its share of Liverpool city region traffic, with an estimated 2.5m movements from passengers living with 30 minutes using other airports. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) enjoyed the busiest year in its 92-year history in 2025, handling more than 5.6m passengers – and it is hungry for millions more.
Executives at LJLA have told LBN the significant overlap with Manchester Airport in the short-haul European leisure market leads them to believe that up to 2.5m extra passengers a year could be up for grabs.
LJLA’s recovery since COVID has been phenomenal, it has topped multiple league tables for passenger experience, particularly following investment into security lanes, and on-time departures.
There is a perception that Liverpool and Manchester serve distinct markets with the latter often viewed as the home of legacy airlines, offering direct or connecting flights to long-haul destinations across the world.
However, analysis shows there is, in fact, an overlap between the two when it comes to the market for European holiday destinations.
Manchester offers a wider range of airlines with approximately 50 scheduled airlines compared to six at Liverpool. But 84% of seats in Manchester during 2025 were to destinations in Europe and North Africa, with just 3% of seats to North America, 2% to Asia and 7% to the Middle East.
Out of the top 18 routes by seats available at Manchester, 14 are also served by Liverpool which means the majority of passengers using Manchester Airport could easily switch to Liverpool for what it claimed would be a much smoother experience.
And 66% of all seats in Manchester in 2025 were operated by Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2.com and TUI showing the core of its capacity is leisure based and low-cost travel.
The top four markets by seats served in 2025 from Manchester were Dublin, Amsterdam, Alicante and Tenerife, all markets served from Liverpool.
A look at the top 15 markets served in Manchester shows 12 are served from Liverpool. They are Dublin, Amsterdam, Alicante, Tenerife, Palma, Belfast, Malaga, Paris, Antalya, Lanzarote, Faro and Barcelona. The missing three being London Heathrow, Dubai and Doha.
Paul Winfield, LJLA’s aviation director, told LBN that multiple studies and surveys show the airport consistently lives up to its slogan of being the North West’s “faster, easier, friendlier” airport.
“The network overlap is significant and leakage data suggest that more than 2.5m movements per year from Liverpool city region depart from Manchester Airport. That potentially represents a huge opportunity for us.
“This is traffic that, could depart from Liverpool with increased flight choice and timings.”LJLA has seen major expansions in the past couple of years from airlines including easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2. Extra aircraft have arrived in Liverpool leading to a wider choice of destinations.
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“Improved transport links, including a direct rail service to and from North Wales calling at the nearby Liverpool South Parkway station, mean it is getting easier to travel to and from LJLA from across the North West.
“Work to keep on improving the passenger experience at the airport will not slow down. LJLA is a key driver of the Liverpool city region economy and, with the right support from stakeholders in the region, we can keep on growing.”