About Us
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) is one of the UK’s longest established operational Airports having been officially opened on 1st July 1933. LJLA is situated seven miles South East of Liverpool City Centre and adjacent to the River Mersey.
The Airport is part-owned by The Peel Group, a leading infrastructure, transport and real estate investment company in the UK, who first became involved with the airport in 1997 and who have since made significant investments in the business. Passenger numbers have increased almost ten-fold since the mid-1990′s, with the Airport moving from 20th to the 12th busiest airport in the UK.
In March 2016, Liverpool City Council acquired a stake in the airport in the form of shares with the investment used to further improve facilities for passengers and airlines and maximise the opportunity for the Airport and City Region to be a key gateway for the North West and North Wales.
More recently, Ancala Partners LLP, the independent infrastructure Investment Manager completed the acquisition of a 45% interest in the Airport in September 2019, with Peel and Liverpool City Council retaining 45% and 10% interests respectively. Today, Peel and Ancala each have a 47% interest in the Airport Company and Liverpool City Council 6%.
Liverpool was the UK’s first airport to be named after an individual when it was rebranded in 2001 as a lasting tribute to the Liverpool born, former Beatle, John Lennon, with the new terminal opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is well on the road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and once again expects to handle over 5 million passengers per year by 2024. The airport currently has flights to over 60 destinations in the UK and across Europe and is a gateway for the City Region, the North West and North Wales and improved access to a range of passenger markets, helps the Airport continue to give the City Region the competitive edge over many rival cities. Recently a number of new airlines having started operations from Liverpool bringing greater global connectivity too.
The Airport is also one of the area’s major employers, attracting inward investment and bringing significant tourism benefits, helping to boost the region’s economy. LJLA is a significant driver of prosperity in the region and the North West and North Wales as a whole, bringing an estimated £340 million per annum in GVA and supporting 5,200 jobs across the Liverpool city region in 2019.
Whilst passenger numbers and the choice of destinations continue to rise once again, this has not been at the expense of the Airport experience. Queue times for passengers to go through Airport security are amongst the lowest in the industry for an airport of this size, remaining low throughout 2022, whilst Liverpool also continues to have one of the best airline punctuality records too.
LJLA truly is the Faster, Easier, Friendlier Airport of choice for passengers from across the region, recognised for its relaxed, hassle-free environment and best in class operational performance and has won local and national awards in recognition of its excellent customer service.
As well as winning awards and high praise for the way it looks after its passengers, the Airport has also received recognition for how it looks after its employees too, having received the ‘We Invest In People Gold Accreditation Award’ in early 2023.
Having previously achieved the Silver accreditation in 2019, the Airport Company has continued to improve how it develops and supports its employees, with this latest Gold accreditation recognising further continued progress and that the Airport has an engaged workforce who are positive about their work and proud to work for here.
