Liverpool John Lennon Airport in northwest England has released its 2050 Airport Master Plan, which it will present to the public over a four-week consultation process starting Monday (June 26).
The airport has ambitious plans to serve more destinations including long haul, with passenger forecasts indicating the potential to grow from 4.8 million passengers per year in 2016 to 7.8 million by 2030, and to 11 million by 2050. These increases will require investment in a proposed expansion of the terminal building, additional car parking, passenger facilities including hotels, retail, food and drink services, and a potential extension of the runway.
There is also significant potential to grow cargo operations at LJLA, to attract specialist aviation businesses and to develop a cluster of related high quality employment opportunities.
The investments in the airport’s physical infrastructure has the potential to increase total annual gross value added (GVA) impact to £625m (US$795m), and will enable it to support 12,280 jobs across the city region by 2030.
The Master Plan also considers the environmental effects of the proposals and includes measures to ensure that adverse impacts are identified and wherever possible mitigated. Despite the increased activity, the overall impacts of noise on surrounding areas is expected to be reduced as improvements in aircraft technology result in quieter aircraft and more focused flight paths.
Mark Povall, strategy director for Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said, “Our ambitious plans will help LJLA to maximize its contribution to the regeneration and renaissance of Liverpool as an international city and play a key role in the economic growth of the Liverpool city region and across the Northern Powerhouse.
“Through our growth we also want to continue to be good neighbors. We are holding a series of consultation events to explain the physical changes proposed under the Master Plan to 2050, and to reassure communities that noise controls and improvements in airline technology, will ensure an overall reduction in the areas impacted by noise from airport operations.
“We hope to listen to the views of local residents, passengers and stakeholders who will benefit or be impacted by our future plans. All comments made during the consultation period will be carefully considered and will inform the final Master Plan, which we hope to publish later this year.”