Busiest April ever for LJLA following extended holiday period

Four weeks of School Holidays, Easter, The Royal Wedding and the May Bank Holiday weekend saw passenger throughput during April at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) break all previous records for the time of year.

Almost half a million passengers travelled through the Airport in April – an increase of over 33% compared to April 2010. Last April UK airports suffered from the impact of the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, however in comparison to earlier years, last month’s figure were still some 9% higher than the previous busiest April back in 2007.

With some schools including those on Merseyside taking the first two weeks in April for their holidays and others including schools in Cheshire taking the last two weeks in April, the Airport saw families jetting off on their Easter holidays over a four week period last month. In addition, the combination of a late Easter and the additional Bank Holiday for the Royal Wedding meant that many passengers could go away for up to 11 days, by only having to take three days off work. The combined effect of both these holiday periods meant that passenger numbers rose to levels normally experienced in the height of the Summer season.

Robin Tudor, Head of PR for Peel Airports commented, "We knew passenger numbers this April would be significantly higher than last year, having seen over 100,000 passengers affected by the Icelandic volcano in April 2010, however this year’s bumper April holiday period saw volumes of passengers surpass even our expectations. The region’s holidaymakers clearly took advantage of the way the holiday periods fell and the great choice of low cost flights available from JLA.

Over the Easter, Royal Wedding and May Bank Holiday period alone, almost 200,000 passengers chose to travel via the Airport – it’s a pity a late Easter and a Royal Wedding doesn’t happen every year!"