PLEASE NOTE
This Strategy was written just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a considerable impact both on aviation and all forms of public transport.
The Airport and all the stakeholders who have participated in agreeing this strategy will continue to work together over the coming weeks and months to explore ways to grow and develop public transport usage for airport passengers and employees, as each of our businesses and industries look to recover from the pandemic and return to levels of business seen at the time this strategy was previously agreed.
In due course, it remains the aim of all members of the Airport Transport Forum to work with the Airport in line with this strategy. Whilst this strategy will need to reviewed again and no doubt some of the timescales will need to be extended, it has been published to set out how the Airport and various stakeholders will still aim to facilitate the long term and sustainable growth of the Airport, whilst increasing the proportion of journeys made using sustainable transport modes.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport Surface Access Strategy
Foreword
How people get to and from an Airport is a key factor in its success; it is a key component of the Airport experience and is important in terms of maintaining and improving passenger satisfaction levels and in increasing an airport’s catchment area.
Straightforward, easy access helps to give the City Region the competitive edge over many rival cities; it helps businesses connect to overseas markets, brings more tourists boosting the visitor economy and makes the City Region a more attractive option for inward investment.
Since the last issue of the Airport Surface Access Strategy (ASAS), Liverpool John Lennon Airport now handles over 5 million passengers per year with flights to over 70 destinations in the UK and across Europe, with 1 million more passengers now choosing to use Liverpool compared to five years ago.
It is the award winning Faster, Easier, Friendlier Airport of choice for passengers from across the region and is recognised for its relaxed, hassle free environment and best in class operational performance, with positive passenger feedback now at an all-time high.
However, the focus on offering passengers the best airport experience doesn’t start at the Airport, it is the moment they leave home or head off from here to their onward final destination and it is for this reason that enhancing public transport access is just as important.
This updated version of the ASAS led by Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Merseytravel continues to have the primary aim of facilitating the long term and sustainable growth of the Airport, increasing the proportion of journeys made using sustainable transport modes. In particular, improving access between the Airport and its nearest rail station at Liverpool South Parkway is seen as essential in order for the Airport to realise its full potential as a gateway to the Liverpool City Region, the North West and North Wales.
The ASAS sets out how we will work with our various partners and stakeholders to further develop and improve surface access between the Airport, the City Region and beyond, enhancing public transport provision and encouraging more of our customers and employees to use sustainable modes of transport.
Recent infrastructure developments including the opening of the Mersey Gateway bridge and the Halton Curve rail line, now means that transport access between the Airport and North West Cheshire and North Wales is much improved and this strategy hopes to capitalise on these and other improvements going forward.
The input of members of the Airport Transport Forum has brought an added dimension to the strategy which will support the Airport in reaching its full potential to both benefit the people it serves and the economy – that of the Liverpool City Region and the wider north, helping ensure that our City Region is as the heart of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’.
John Irving, CEO Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Frank Rogers, Chief Executive, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Director General, Merseytravel
March 2020
Click to download Liverpool John Lennon Airport's Surface Access Strategy - March 2020 (PDF)
