Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) continues to recover from the pandemic, welcoming double the number of passengers this January as it did in the first month of 2022.
The airport welcomed 239,480 passengers in January 2023, more than double the 103,322 who passed through in January 2022, when covid-related travel restrictions were in place and the Omicron variant remained prominent.
It is also a stark increase from the 16,099 passengers that used the airport in January 2021. Though this January marks the airport's best start to a year since the pandemic, its numbers are still 23% down from January 2020.
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As such, an airport spokesperson said it remains "on the road to recovery, but looking forward to a busier year ahead". Last year saw JLA serve four million customers, which was around 80% of the capacity it had in 2019.
Its primary aim for 2023 is to serve 4.5 million customers, which would represent around 90% of its pre-pandemic levels. As such CEO John Irving recently told the ECHO that 2024 should be the year that JLA hits and potentially surpasses its numbers from before the pandemic.
This summer, the airport will offer a number of new routes as it looks to continue its recovery. A number of airlines that joined the airport last year are currently preparing for their first summer there.
In 2022, Liverpool Airport welcomed Lufthansa and PLAY as new partner airlines. The German airline offers international connections from JLA, via a stop in Frankfurt, while PLAY flies from Liverpool to Reykjavik, before passengers can connect onto the USA.
Summer 2023 will see Lufthansa double its number of flights from Liverpool to six per week and will be the first summer that PLAY's flights will be available from JLA. Liverpool's long-standing airlines will also offer more routes this coming summer, while Norwegian airline Widerøe will return to the airport in March.
Meanwhile, easyJet and Ryanair will offer a number of new routes - as well as basing an extra plane each at the Speke-based airport, creating jobs for pilots and cabin crew.
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