Liverpool John Lennon Airport Celebrate Fifty Millionth Passenger

On the 13th of June one lucky passenger became the 50 millionth to travel through Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The staff surprised Helen Lace, who became the airports fifty millionth passenger, with a bottle of champagne and a flight voucher. Helen was clearly very pleased with her gift and said, "I'm flying to Belfast for a reunion with old friends. This is a lovely surprise and I'm amazed that I'm the Airport's 50 millionth passenger. I'll be looking to book somewhere hot and sunny with my easyJet flight voucher."

Liverpool Airport was officially opened in July 1933 and the success of the flights that were run led to the need for a new control tower and passenger terminal as well as hangars for the storage of aircraft. These were built in the late 1930's but operations using these new facilities were cut short after the outbreak of World War 2. During the war Liverpool Airport was requisitioned by the RAF for military purposes and was known as RAF Speke. In addition to the strategic importance of the area many aircraft were constructed at the airport to assist with the war effort. Aircraft such as the Handley Page Halifax, Bristol Blenheim, P-51 Mustang and Hudson were all constructed at RAF Speke.

After the war Liverpool Airport was handed back to civilian control and in 1966 the construction of a new runway was completed which is still in operation to this day. The original 1930's terminal was replaced in 1986 with a new modern version that sat adjacent to the runway with the old terminal famous in 1960's film for screaming Beatles fans was closed and became derelict over the next decade. Eventually this was converted into the Marriott Liverpool South Hotel however retaining however its original historic form.

Liverpool Airport was privatised in 1990 and ownership passed to British Aerospace with a 76% share and as a result the airport became a subsidiary of Peel Holdings Ltd. In 2000 work began on a new passenger terminal at a cost of £42.5m, upon completion of this project in 2002 Liverpool Airport was capable of tripling its passenger throughput.

Further improvements have been made over the last few years to keep the airport modern and safe. It was also in 2002 that the airport changed its name to the Liverpool 'John Lennon' Airport as a tribute to the legendary singer/songwriter. The airport houses a 7ft bronze statue in the check-in hall and lyrics from Lennon's song 'Imagine' adorn the airport roof. In 2005 the airport also added the 'Yellow Submarine' as a reference to one of The Beatles songs which can be seen on the traffic island when entering the airport.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport has become considerably busier in the last ten years with thirty one of the fifty million passengers passing through since 1998, this is directly linked to the push made by Peel Holdings since they acquired the airport in 1997. The Deputy CEO Neil Pakey spoke about the airports milestone by saying;

"It is a remarkable achievement for JLA to be celebrating its 50 millionth passenger in this our 75th Anniversary year. Peel's substantial investment over the last 10 years has certainly paid off for the region. The Airport has continued to move up the league table of UK airports, has increased its passengers numbers eight fold and last year won the prestigious accolade of 'UK Airport of the Year 2007'. Most importantly Peel's investment has provided Liverpool with the key air links it desperately needed."

The celebrations at Liverpool John Lennon Airport will not be ending here however as July will see the 75th anniversary of the opening of the airport which will be sure to be another well-celebrated event. There will be a celebratory event in July run by the Friends of Liverpool Airport (FoLA) and The Jetstream Club which will see a celebration take place at the Liverpool Marriott Hotel South which is the former terminal building of the airport and will be taking place on the 29th of June. If you would like to attend then you can find more information here www.fola.org.uk

Published by: Jon Vickery