John Lennon Airport: Imagine That! (Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL))

Member Name: blackjane

Product:	Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL)
Date:	30/06/01 (373 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A new name - a new era, Growth in recent years has made it a serious proposition

Disadvantages: Less choice than nearby Manchester

Liverpool 'John Lennon' International Airport, as it is now to be known, serves Merseyside and the surrounding areas.

The decision to rename Liverpool Airport, which had previously been known as Liverpool Speke Airport prior to 1986, is a relatively recent one. Many airports are named after famous people - John F. Kennedy in New York and Charles De Gaulle in Paris are two that spring immediately to mind, but to name an airport after a musician is certainly taking this type of activity in an interesting new direction.

Liverpool undoubtedly benefits from its heritage, and its single biggest tourist pull, worth in excess of £20 million per annum, is the Beatles. It may be over thirty years now since their heyday, but the fab four are still big business on Merseyside. The posthumous honour that is now being bestowed upon John Lennon is a fitting tribute. His widow Yoko Ono is to attend a ceremony in the coming months, when the official renaming of the airport will take place.

Perhaps the most fitting gesture that is being made as part of the renaming of Liverpool Airport is the use of the motto 'Above Us Only Sky', which is taken from the lyrics of one of John Lennon's best known songs 'Imagine.'

The airport itself has its origins in the mid 1920s, although it was not officially opened until 1933. Like most other reasonable sized airports, it is open twenty-four hours a day. Served by a single terminal it also has a runway that is just under 2.3 km in length. It is estimated that annual passenger numbers travelling through the airport will reach almost two and a half million for the first time during 2001. This represents a significant increase, from volumes of less than half a million in 1994. The main car park is now capable of housing up to two and a half thousand cars, and the whole surrounding area has seen significant development over recent years.

Having lived in Liverpool for a number of ye
ars, I have flown from this airport on several occasions. The facilities are what you might expect for an airport of its size ie: nowhere near the likes of Gatwick, Heathrow or Manchester. The pre-flight experience has always been pleasant, and in terms of interchange the benefits of a smaller sized operation mean that arriving and leaving are considerably quicker than some of its larger competitors.

Located near to Speke, Liverpool Airport is approximately seven miles to the south-east of the city centre. Travellers by road will find that it is easily accessible via the M62, M57 or M56. Although taxis are available, the shuttle bus to the city centre costs just £2 for adults and £1 for children.

Liverpool airport serves destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Geneva, Madrid, Malaga, Nice & Palma (all with budget airline EasyJet) with regular daily scheduled services, as well as destinations in Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Its range of chartered services carry passengers to many destinations in Turkey, mainland Spain, as well as the Balearics and the Canary Islands. New routes are now being added as the airport grows, and it is anticipated that the current terminal building will eventually be able to support passenger volumes that are more than double those at present.

Although many travellers in the North-West of England are more likely to have used Manchester Airport, Liverpool is fast becoming a more viable alternative, especially with its choice of budget flights with EasyJet.

A handy list of relevant Liverpool Airport links can be found at:

http://www.fola.org.uk/links.html

FOLA - Friends Of Liverpool Airport, is a group that aims to promote the profile of Liverpool Airport. Its web site includes a mass of information, and used in conjunction with the airport's own official website at www.liverpoolairport.com you should be able to discover all the information you would ev
er wish to know.

{An original Dooyoo opinion
© Blackjane 2001}

Summary: