Liverpool John Lennon Airport

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"Liverpool Airport" redirects here. For the airport in Nova Scotia, Canada, see Liverpool/South Shore Regional Airport.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
250px
Liverpool Airport aerial Coleman.jpg
IATA: LPL – ICAO: EGGP
Summary
Owner Peel Airports
Operator Liverpool Airport PLC
Serves Liverpool, Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire and North Wales
Location Speke, Liverpool
Elevation AMSL 81 ft / 25 m
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Website liverpoolairport.com
Map
EGGP is located in Merseyside
EGGP
EGGP
Location in Merseyside
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,285 7,497 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 3,986,654
Passenger change 13-14 Decrease4.8%
Aircraft Movements 52,249
Movements change 13-14 Decrease6.4%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (IATA: LPL, ICAO: EGGP) is an international airport serving North West England. On the outbreak of World War II the airport was operated by the RAF and known as RAF Speke. The airport is within the City of Liverpool on the banks of the estuary of the River Mersey some 6.5 nautical miles (12.0 km; 7.5 mi)[1] south east of the city centre. The airport is named after Liverpudlian musician John Lennon of The Beatles. Scheduled domestic and European services are operated from the airport.

Between 1997 and 2007 the facility was one of Europe's fastest growing airports, increasing annual passenger numbers from 689,468 in 1997 to 5.47 million in 2007.[2] Passenger numbers have since fallen with around 4 million passengers passing through the airport in 2014, making it the 13th busiest airport in the United Kingdom. The CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence Number is P735, that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and flying instruction.

History

The old terminal building, used between the 1930s and 1986, now the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel
The interior of the terminal building in 2006
The control tower

Built in part of the grounds of Speke Hall, Liverpool (Speke) Airport, as the airport was originally known, started scheduled flights in 1930 with a service by Imperial Airways via Barton Aerodrome near Eccles, Salford and Castle Bromwich Aerodrome, Birmingham to Croydon Airport near London. The airport was officially opened in mid-1933. By the late 1930s, air traffic from Liverpool was beginning to take off with increasing demand for Irish Sea crossings, and a distinctive passenger terminal, control tower and two large aircraft hangars were built.[citation needed]

During the World War II, Speke was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force and known as RAF Speke. Rootes built in a "shadow factory Bristol Blenheims and 1,070 Handley Page Halifax bombers at the airport.[citation needed] Lockheed Aircraft Corporation assembled many types of planes at the airport, including Hudsons and Mustang fighters, that had been shipped from the United States in parts to Liverpool Docks. The airport was also home to the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit.[citation needed]

On 8 October 1940 (one day before John Lennon's birth), Speke was witness to what is thought to be the fastest air-to-air combat "kill" in the Battle of Britain and possibly of all time. Flight Lieutenant Denys Gillam took off in his Hawker Hurricane from Speke to be confronted by a Junkers 88 passing across him. He shot the Junkers down while his undercarriage was still retracting, and, along with Alois Vašátko and Josef Stehlík, all of 312 Squadron, was credited with the kill. The moment has been caught in a painting by Robert Taylor called "Fastest Victory".[3][4]

Normal civil airline operations resumed after VE-day and passengers increased from 50,000 in 1945 to 75,000 in 1948, remaining ahead of Manchester Airport. Ownership by the Ministry of Aviation proved to be a drag on the airport's progress thereafter and Manchester gained the lead from 1949, resulting in Liverpool's loss of the only ground-controlled radar approach unit available to North West airports, further hampering operation.[citation needed]

During the post war years Speke Airport hosted an annual Air Display in aid of the Soldiers, Sailors, and Air Force Association, a charity for veterans. The displays were immensely popular and attracted a huge crowd. On one such occasion on 21 May 1956 sadly tragedy struck with the death of Léon Alfred Nicolas "Léo" Valentin billed as the Birdman when his balsa wood wings struck the opening of the aircraft from which he was exiting and he was hurtled into an uncontrollable spin. He attempted to deploy his emergency parachute but it became entangled and 'roman candled' leaving Leo to fall to his death. The local newspaper headlined the story with "The world has been robbed of a daring personality". Ironically, a few years earlier Valentin had been attributed with discovering the free-fall stable position still used by sports parachutists today for safe deployment.[citation needed]

The city took over control of the airport on 1 January 1961 and prepared development plans. In 1966, a new 7,500 ft (2,286 m) runway was opened by Prince Philip on a new site to the southeast of the existing airfield. It enabled the airport to be open for business around the clock and is in use to this day. Control of the airport transferred to Merseyside County Council from Liverpool Corporation in the mid 1970s and then, ten years later, to the five Merseyside councils following the abolition of Merseyside County Council. In 1982, Pope John Paul II visited and met crowds at the old Liverpool airport.

Southern Terminal (1986)

A modern passenger terminal adjacent to the new runway opened in 1986 followed by the closure of the original 1930s building.[5]

The original terminal building dating from the late 1930s, famously seen on early television footage with its terraces packed with Beatles fans, was left derelict until converted into a hotel, opening in 2001, preserving its Grade II listed Art Deco style. It was part of the Marriott chain of hotels, but is currently the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel after a renovation in August 2008.[6] The former apron of the terminal is also listed and retained in its original condition, although it is no longer connected to the airport or subject to airside access control. It is the home of several aircraft, including BAe Jetstream 41 prototype G-JMAC and Bristol Britannia G-ANCF, preserved by the Speke Aerodrome heritage Group.[citation needed] The two art-deco-style hangars that flank the terminal and apron have also been converted for new uses: one is now a David Lloyd leisure centre, the other the headquarters of the Shop Direct Group, called Skyways House.[6][7][8][9]

In 1990 the airport was privatised, with British Aerospace taking a 76% shareholding in the new company. Subsequently the airport has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Peel Holdings Ltd. In 2000, work on a £42.5 million passenger terminal began, tripling its size and passenger capacity, completed in 2002. There have since been further extensions. The airport's strategy is to cater largely for 'low cost' operators, and consequently the layout of the terminal and gates requires passengers to walk unprotected from the weather to and from passenger aircraft. Destinations served are throughout Europe, the 2007 scheduled services to the United States and Canada having been withdrawn.[citation needed]

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (2001)

2001 saw the airport being renamed in honour of John Lennon, a founding member of The Beatles, 21 years after Lennon's death - the first airport in the UK to be named after an individual.[10] A 7 ft (2.1 m) tall bronze statue stands overlooking the check-in hall. Liverpool airport officials were inspired by the layout and name of John Wayne Airport which boasts a 7 ft tall bronze statue of actor John Wayne which stands overlooking the check-in hall. On the roof is painted the airport's motto, a line from Lennon's song "Imagine": "Above us, only sky".[11] In 2005 the Yellow Submarine, a large-scale work of art, was installed on a traffic island at the entrance to the airport. In 2005 a brand-new apron exclusively for EasyJet was constructed to the east of the terminal with six stands and a pier with six boarding gates.

In September 2006 reconstruction started on the main runway and taxiways. This was the first time the runway had been reconstructed (as opposed to resurfaced) since it was opened in 1966. This work was completed in 2007.[12] In addition to runway and shoulder work was the upgrade of the 40-year-old airfield group lighting with a new system, intended to upgrade the runway to ILS Category III standards.[12]

In 2007 construction of a multi-level car park[13] and a budget Hampton by Hilton Hotel started. The hotel opened in October 2009.[14] In June 2010 Vancouver Airport Services announced that it reached an agreement with The Peel Group to acquire 65% share in its airports, including Liverpool.[15] Airside improvements include additional retail units and a more advanced security area aiming at reducing waiting times, completed in autumn 2010.[16]

April 2014 saw Peel repurchase the 65% stake it had sold in the airport giving it 100% ownership once more.[17]

A master plan is in place to be completed by 2030 which plans for the airport to grow significantly. This includes new terminal buildings and the introduction of permanent long-haul services.[18]

Airport directors

Captain Harold James Andrews was appointed as the first Airport Manager in July 1932, and he was effectively the first full-time professional co-ordinator for the whole project. Jack Chadwick took over many of the management functions post-war until 1961. That year there was a traffic increase of 42%, attributed to the first airport marketing campaign initiated by the new Airport Director, Wing Commander H.W.G.Andrews.[19] In the late 1960s, Brian Trunkfield MBE was a much-respected Assistant Director, and Keith Porter took over as Airport Director in the days when The Beatles were regular passengers.[20] Chris Preece, a former executive of British Aerospace, was Airport Director during much of the British Aerospace years of ownership, replaced by Rod Rufus and then Rod Hill, who brought in Direct Holidays, part of the MyTravel Group on a commercial deal which was to prove the market for easyJet. Neil Pakey took over as Managing Director in 2002, taking the airport through its major passenger growth years and renaming of it to John Lennon Airport. On selling the airport to Vancouver Airport Services in 2010, the former Operations Director for Vancouver Airport, Craig Richmond, took over, and on 1 March 2013, Matthew Thomas, also from Vancouver Airport Services (by then renamed Vantage Airport Group), was appointed to the role.[21]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Liverpool John Lennon Airport handles flights to and from a wide variety of destinations across Europe and North Africa as well as connecting flights to North America, Canada and Asia (via Amsterdam and Dublin).[22]

Airlines Destinations
Aer Lingus Dublin
Blue Air Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca (begins 3 June 2016)[23]
Seasonal: Bacău
Czech Airlines Seasonal: Prague
easyJet Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast-International, Berlin-Schönefeld, Faro, Fuerteventura, Geneva, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kraków, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Málaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Seasonal: Bodrum, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Mahón, Nantes, Naples, Rhodes, Salzburg, Zakynthos
Flybe Amsterdam, Belfast-City, Edinburgh, Isle of Man (ends 26 March 2016)
Flybe
operated by Blue Islands		 Seasonal charter: Guernsey (begins 4 June 2016)[24]
Flybe
operated by Stobart Air		 Isle of Man
Ryanair Alicante, Barcelona, Bratislava (ends 30 March 2016), Carcassonne (ends 29 March 2016), Cork, Derry, Dublin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Knock, Kraków, Lanzarote, Limoges (ends 25 March 2016), Málaga, Malta, Oslo-Torp, Poznań, Tenerife-South, Vilnius, Warsaw-Modlin, Wrocław
Seasonal: Bergerac, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Kos, Nîmes, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Porto, Rhodes, Szczecin
Thomson Airways Seasonal charter: Palma de Mallorca (begins 3 May 2016)[25]
Vueling Barcelona (begins 27 March 2016)[26]
Wizz Air Budapest (begins 27 March 2016),[27] Gdańsk, Riga, Warsaw-Chopin

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Atlantic Airlines London-Luton

Statistics

Passengers and aircraft movements

Number of passengers[2] % Change
YoY		 Number of movements[2] % Change
YoY
1997 689,468 - 83,354 -
1998 873,172 Increase 26.6 86,871 Increase 4.2
1999 1,304,959 Increase 49.5 75,489 Decrease 13.1
2000 1,982,711 Increase 51.9 76,257 Increase 1.0
2001 2,253,398 Increase 13.7 74,659 Decrease 2.1
2002 2,835,871 Increase 25.8 74,313 Decrease 0.5
2003 3,177,009 Increase 12.0 84,405 Increase 13.6
2004 3,353,350 Increase 5.6 85,393 Increase 1.2
2005 4,411,243 Increase 31.5 92,970 Increase 8.9
2006 4,963,886 Increase 12.5 91,263 Decrease 1.8
2007 5,468,510 Increase 10.2 86,668 Decrease 5.0
2008 5,334,152 Decrease 2.5 84,890 Decrease 2.1
2009 4,884,494 Decrease 8.4 79,298 Decrease 6.6
2010 5,013,940 Increase 2.7 68,164 Decrease 14.0
2011 5,251,161 Increase 4.7 69,055 Increase 1.3
2012 4,463,257 Decrease 15.0 60,270 Decrease 12.7
2013 4,187,439 Decrease 6.2 55,839 Decrease 7.4
2014 3,986,654 Decrease 4.8 52,249 Decrease 6.4

Route statistics

20 Busiest routes to and from Liverpool Airport (2014)[2]
Rank Airport Passengers handled  % Change
2013/14
1 Belfast-International 418,389 Increase1.1
2 Dublin 276,788 Increase1.4
3 Barcelona 223,789 Increase7.6
4 Amsterdam 204,163 Decrease1.5
5 Alicante 199,121 Decrease3.5
6 Isle of Man 198,243 Decrease3.2
7 Málaga 186,742 Decrease10.4
8 Palma de Mallorca 178,676 Decrease0.3
9 Faro 163,114 Decrease6.2
10 Geneva 133,773 Decrease0.7
11 Madrid 100,391 Increase6
12 Jersey 91,039 Increase5.3
13 Paris 89,484 Decrease2.3
14 Nice 88,757 Increase2.6
15 Kraków 88,700 Decrease14.3
16 Knock 86,359 Increase0.8
17 City of Derry 81,497 Decrease10.2
18 Cork 79,296 Increase6.4
19 Berlin 76,067 Decrease18.9
20 Lanzarote 72,129 Increase3.5

Ground transport

Liverpool South Parkway railway station was built to improve links to the airport
Long-distance trains from Liverpool South Parkway

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is within Merseytravel Area C, like the remainder of Liverpool, for local public transport tickets. Plusbus tickets are also available, although they cannot be used on the Arriva 500 express route to/from Liverpool City Centre.[28]

Road

The airport is accessible from the M53 and M56 motorways via the A533 / Runcorn Bridge to the south, and from the M57 and M62 motorways via the Knowsley Expressway to the north.

Rail

The nearest station is the Merseyrail Hunts Cross station at 2.2 miles away. However, Merseytravel combined Garston and Allerton stations into a parkway station called Liverpool South Parkway at 2.9 miles from the airport at a cost of £32 million. Regular bus services, 80A & 86A, operate between the Airport and the station, operated by Arriva. The station provides regular trains services to many locations throughout England and local Merseyrail services.

Train Operator From To Via (principal stations) Frequency (up to)
Merseyrail Southport Hunts Cross Liverpool Central, Bootle New Strand, Crosby & Formby Every 15 mins
Northern Rail Liverpool Lime Street Manchester Oxford Road Widnes & Warrington Every 30 mins
Northern Rail Liverpool South Parkway Blackpool North Liverpool, Wigan, Preston Every 60 mins
First TransPennine Express Liverpool Lime Street Scarborough/Middlesbrough/Newcastle Warrington, Manchester, Leeds, Huddersfield & York (Darlington and Durham towards Newcastle) Every 60 mins
East Midlands Trains Liverpool Lime Street Norwich Warrington, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Peterborough & Ely Every 60 mins
London Midland Liverpool Lime Street Birmingham New Street Runcorn, Crewe, Stafford & Wolverhampton Every 30 mins

[29] [30]

Bus and coach

Regular bus services link the airport with surrounding urban areas. Frequent express services operate to Liverpool (bus) and Manchester (coach).

Facilities

There are shops and cafes both landside and airside within the passenger terminal, including a payable lounge and a Wetherspoon pub.

Hotels

The Hampton by Hilton Liverpool John Lennon Airport

The original terminal building dating from the late 1930s, famously seen on early television footage with its terraces packed with Beatles fans, was left derelict for over a decade after being replaced in 1986. It was renovated and adapted to become a hotel, opened for business in 2001, preserving its Grade II listed Art Deco style. It was part of the Marriott chain of hotels, but is currently the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport Hotel after a renovation in August 2008.[6]

The Hampton by Hilton Liverpool John Lennon Airport is one of three Hilton Worldwide hotels in Liverpool. It is situated directly opposite the main terminal building, and is the second largest hotel serving the complex after the Crowne Plaza.[31] The hotel was constructed as part of a £37 million development by Peel Holdings at John Lennon Airport (which also included a multi-storey car park), the Hampton by Hilton is also the first hotel to be built actually attached to the airport's terminal building.[32]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 10 May 2001 Spanair Flight 3203 (McDonnell Douglas MD-83 EC-FXI) was substantially damaged when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing. All 51 people on board evacuated via the escape slides. It was repaired and returned to service.[35]

See also

Bibliography

  • Phil Butler Liverpool Airport - an Illustrated History. Tempus Publishing, Stroud, 2004. ISBN 0-7524-3168-4.
  • Gabi Dolff-Bonekämper: Berlin-Tempelhof in: Berlin-Tempelhof, Liverpool-Speke, Paris-Le Bourget. Années 30 Architecture des aéroports, Airport Architecture of the Thierties, Flughafenarchitektur der dreißiger Jahre. Éditions du patrimoine, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-85822-328-9, S. 32–61.
  • Bob Hawkins (ed.): Historic airports. Proceedings of the international "L'Europe de l'Air" conferences on Aviation Architecture Liverpool (1999), Berlin (2000), Paris (2001). English Heritage, London 2005, ISBN 1-873592-83-3.

References

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External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Peter Adey, ""Above Us Only Sky": Themes, Simulations, and Liverpool John Lennon Airport," pp. 153-166 in The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nation, and Self, ed. Scott A. Lukas (Lanham, MD, Lexington Books, 2007), ISBN 0-7391-2142-1
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Google Maps
  30. ↑ Neild, Larry (30 March 2006). "Cost of Liverpool rail hub doubles to £32m". Liverpool Daily Post.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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