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Liverpool John Lennon Airport

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Template:Airport frame Template:Airport title Template:Airport image Template:Airport infobox Template:Runway title Template:Runway Template:Airport end frame Liverpool John Lennon Airport (IATA: LPL, ICAO: EGGP) is one of Europe's fastest growing airports, having more than quintupled its annual passenger numbers from 875,000 in 1998 to over 4.4 million in 2005. In recent years this airport has been overtaken by huge crowds of people wanting to fly from Liverpool airport. The parking facilities have not kept pace with the demand, and so the latest plans are for this airport to have a new multi-story car park, which will be able to hold up to 869 spaces. Plans are also in the works for a new 3* hotel with 150 bedrooms for people who wish to stay before their long journey. The airport is located 7 miles south east of the centre of Liverpool, England, adjacent to the Mersey Estuary.

History

A Bristol Freighter Taxis at Liverpool Airport in 1961

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is one of the UK's oldest operational airports. Speke Airport - its original name (pronounced Speak) - started scheduled flights in 1930, however was 'officially' opened in the summer of 1933. In the thirties, as air traffic from Liverpool was beginning to 'take-off' with high demand for Irish Sea crossings, a passenger terminal and aircraft storage facilities were built. During World War II, the airport was taken over by the Royal Air Force and known as RAF Speke

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. Squadron Leader Denys Gillam took off in his Hawker Hurricane from Speke to be confronted by a Junkers 88 passing across him. As his undercarriage was still retracting he shot the Junkers down. The moment has been caught in a painting by Robert Taylor called "Fastest Victory".

In 1966, a new runway was opened on a new site to the south 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 10 years later to the five Merseyside councils following the abolition of Merseyside County Council. A new modern passenger terminal, adjacent to the runway on the southern airfield site, opened in 1986, following the closure of the original 1930s building.[1]

The original terminal building from the 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. However it has recently been renovated and expanded to become the Marriott Liverpool South Hotel, preserving its Grade II listed art deco style.[2]

In 1990 ownership of 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 modern passenger terminal began, tripling the size and increasing capacity, and this development was completed in 2002.[3]

2002 saw the airport being renamed in honour of the late John Lennon, a founding member of Liverpudlian band The Beatles, twenty-two years after Lennon's death. A 7ft bronze statue of the local icon proudly 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".

Liverpool John Lennon Aiport was one of three airports featured on the ITV 1 documentary, Airline, but since the transformation of the airport it has not been seen on television since.

At the Airport

The terminal building at John Lennon Airport Liverpool

Shopping/Entertainment

  • Alpha Duty Free
  • Boots (2)
  • Bijoux Terner
  • Casino Bet
  • Dorothy Perkins
  • Impressions of Liverpool
  • Serendipity Games (3)
  • Soft Shoe Company
  • SOS
  • Spar
  • Sunglass Studio
  • Superdrug
  • The Wandering Monkey
  • Whistlestop
  • WHSmith (3)

Eating/Drinking

Future Plans

  • More retail outlets are expected to arrive in Liverpool Airport's departure lounge in the forthcoming future.
  • Caffe Ritazza is opening another store in liverpool airport's departure lounge to make it three outlets at the airport.
  • Another retail outlet is expected in the main shopping area.

Facilities

  • Halewood Executive Lounge
  • Conference Centre
  • Passenger Information Desk
  • Prayer Room
  • Car Rentals - Avis, enterprise, Hertz
  • Travelex (5)
  • Travel Agents - Last Minute.com/Co-op Travel
  • Internet Access/Wi-Fi Connection

Airlines

The airport handles both chartered and scheduled flights. It is currently served by the following airlines:

  • Aer Arann (Galway)
  • easyJet (Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel-Mulhouse, Belfast-International, Berlin-Schönefeld, Cologne/Bonn, Faro, Geneva, Ibiza, Krakow, Mahon, Madrid, Malaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
  • Euromanx (Isle of Man)
  • Flybe (Belfast City, Jersey, Southampton)
  • Flyglobespan (Prague - Starts November 3, Newark - Starts May 25, Tenerife - Starts November 1)
  • MyTravel Airways Charter Flights (Alicante, Arrecife, Dalaman, Faro, Las Palmas, Palma de Mallorca, Mahon, Malaga, Monastir, Reina Sofia, Reus)
  • Ryanair (Barcelona, Bergerac, Brescia, Carcassonne, Cork, Dublin, Gerona, Granada, Grenoble - [Starts December 19], Inverness, Kerry, Limoges, Milan-Bergamo, Murcia, Nimes, Oslo-Torp, Pisa, Porto, Reus, Riga, Rome-Ciampino, Salzburg - [Starts December 19], Shannon, Treviso)
  • Thomsonfly Charter flights (Alicante, Corfu, Ibiza, Mahon, Tenerife-South)
  • VLM Airlines (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Jersey, LondonCity, Luxembourg, Rotterdam)
  • Wizz Air (Gdansk, Katowice, Kaunas, Warsaw)

And the cargo airline area is served by:

Getting There

By road, the airport is made accessible by the M53, M56,M57 and M62 motorways. The Knowsley Expressway links Knowsley, Prescot and Huyton to Speke Boulevard for fast access.

The airport does not have its own railway station. The nearest station is at Liverpool South Parkway, from which there are regular bus shuttle services to the airport and direct rail links from Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. There are also fast and frequent rail connections to Hunts Cross, Liverpool, Crosby and Southport, using the Northern Line on the Merseyrail network.

There are regular bus services linking the airport with both Liverpool and Manchester city centres.

Travel from Liverpool

  • There is a taxi rank outside the terminal which uses London-style black cabs.
  • There are regular bus services to the airport.
  • Hire a chauffeur-driven car for long-distance travel by using the internet.

References

  1. ^ Liverpool John Lennon Airport (2004). Liverpool John Lennon Airport History. Retrieved November 15, 2005.
  2. ^ Marriott International Inc. (1996-2005). Liverpool Marriott Hotel South. Retrieved November 15, 2005.
  3. ^ ibid.


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