With school holidays set to start this weekend Liverpool John Lennon Airport is expecting to handle 170,000 passengers in the next two weeks in the run up to Easter. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is gearing up for what it expects to be one of its busiest periods since before the pandemic – handling an expected 170,000 passengers in two weeks.
Many schools will break up this weekend and, with Easter weekend just two weeks away (Good Friday is on April 15) many families have booked to jet away for a spring break as airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air launch their summer schedules.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 the airport has seen passenger numbers plummet. During the first lockdown international travel all but ground to a halt and subsequent lockdowns and travel restrictions kept passenger numbers lower than normal.
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Now the airport is about to enter the first school holiday period since the lifting of the last of the Government’s covid related international travel restrictions, with around 170,000 passengers from across the North West and North Wales expected to come through the airport.
Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air have all added new routes from Liverpool over the past few months. Irish carrier Ryanair now flies to more than 30 destinations, easyJet to 25 and Wizz Air to 14 locations in Europe.
In May, the second-biggest airline in Europe by passenger numbers, Lufthansa, will begin flights from Liverpool to Frankfurt. It will offer onward routes to 150 global destinations via its German hub.
Most popular sunshine routes this Easter are likely to be Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Palma, as well as routes to the Turkish resorts of Dalaman, Bodrum and Antalya which have recently restarted.
City breaks to destinations closer to home such as Dublin and Belfast are also expected to be popular as usual, along with destinations including Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, Budapest and Porto.
The airport is continuing its recovery from the pandemic and expects to be significantly busier than just a few months ago, as passengers from across the region begin to travel overseas once again.
However passengers are reminded that security restrictions relating to items in hand luggage, that most travellers were familiar with pre-COVID, remain in place. Passengers are asked to allow plenty of time to pass through the airport.
People are also asked to ensure that they check what restrictions are in place for the destination they are travelling to, with some countries continuing to have COVID-related restrictions for arriving passengers.
Robin Tudor, head of PR for Liverpool Airport, said: “We are looking forward to the return of the Easter getaway once again bringing the busiest holiday period of the year so far for the airport.
“Our post-pandemic recovery continues and whilst we still have some way to go in terms of reaching pre-pandemic passenger numbers, it is great to be welcoming back lots more passengers to the airport once again.
“We don’t expect lengthy queues for our passengers, however travellers should remember that security restrictions regarding items in hand luggage prior to the pandemic remain in place and because the airport will be busier than usual, they should allow plenty of time to pass through the terminal.”