In March alone LJLA handled 390,000 passengers – up 7% on March last year and airport executives are optimistic the peak summer season will see the momentum maintained. Tony McDonough reports

More than 1m passengers have used John Lennon Airport (LJLA) in the first three months of 2018 – a rise of 45,000 on 2017 and the best first quarter since 2011.

In March alone LJLA handled 390,000 passengers – up 7% on March last year and airport executives, led by new chief executive John Irving, are optimistic the peak summer season will see the momentum maintained.

Late last month Mr Irving and his team unveiled the airport’s strategic plan which laid out a £100m investment between now and 2030, supporting 12,000 jobs across the Liverpool city region.

A combination of additional new services now operating from Liverpool and higher passenger loads on existing well established routes has helped to boost passenger numbers.

Growth is expected to continue during the year with seven new routes having already been announced from Liverpool for 2018 with Blue Air to operate new flights to Palma and Malaga, easyJet to serve Pula, Dalaman and Palermo and Ryanair to fly to Shannon and Paphos.

Paul Winfield, director of aviation development for LJLA, said: “The increased choice of destinations and flights now available from Liverpool plus the completion of our various terminal improvement works is continuing to pay off for the airport and the companies based here.

“Passengers appreciate our faster, easier, friendlier approach to the beginning of their journey, be they traveling for leisure or on business and we expect to see further growth in numbers as more new routes begin throughout the year.”