Liverpool John Lennon Airport
| Continent: Europe | Country: United Kingdom | Region: England |
| Liverpool John Lennon Airport | |
| Location | Speke, Liverpool |
| IATA code | LPL |
| ICAO code | EGGP |
| Airport type | Commercial |
| Website | http://www.liverpoolairport.com/ |
| Overview map | Google Maps |
| Communications | |
| Tower | 126.35 |
| Ground | 121.95 |
| Clearance | |
| Approach | 119.85 |
| ATIS | 124.325 |
Liverpool 'John Lennon' Airport is situated on the edge of the River Mersey. It serves the 2008 European Capital of Culture city Liverpool, but the airport itself is sited in Speke. Also at the airport is Liverpool Flying School.
Liverpool airport has one runway (27/09) going from East to West. Aircraft usually land into the prevailing Westerly wind on runway 27 after lining up with the Runcorn-Widnes bridge. Departures usually take the same direction, Westerly towards the Irish Sea and over the Wirral peninsular. This flow changes when there is a strong Easterly wind and runway 9 is used. Liverpool Airport is not as busy as Manchester Airport (MAN/EGCC) as It's mainly used by the budget airlines. Aircraft such as the Airbus A319 and the Boeing 737 are in common use at Liverpool but occasionally, larger aircraft come in on freight operations. The existing runway is capable of handling very large aircraft such as the Antonov-124, Ilyushin-76 and the Boeing 747-200F.
Official Spotting Locations
Location
Other Spotting Locations
Terminal Building
On the first floor of the terminal building, there are a couple of restaurants offering great views over the apron. Grab a burger and a drink, grab a seat and easily pass an hour or two away. This is only available to airside passengers; there are no viewing facilities within the terminal from landside.
Approach to runway 27
At the eastern end of the runway, there is a car park on short final to runway 27. This offers good views of everything landing on 27, and is south of the approach so isn't into sun. You can also see everything departing from 27 as they line up in front of you.
To get to this location, head out of the airport car park as if you are leaving the airport. Turn right almost straight away onto Dunlop Road, which turns into Hale Road. You have a large council estate on your left hand side. After a short while, take a right turn onto Dungeon Lane. You will pass through the approach lights, and shortly after there is a dusty carpark on the left hand side on the corner of another road.
One word of caution for this location - it can attract some less than pleasant characters from the surrounding areas, as testimented by the abundance of empty beer bottles and cans in the car park by day, and cars meeting other cars, having a brief chat and then driving off again by night. Be careful and keep an eye on your equipment, and generally stay safe!
GA Apron
There is a lane that offers great views of the general aviation apron, with bizjets, light aircraft and helicopters. You can also see everything taxying out to runway 27.
To get to this location, head out of the airport car park as if you are leaving the airport. Turn right almost straight away onto Dunlop Road, which turns into Hale Road. Take the third right onto an unsignposted drive. Follow this round to the right, and pull up taking care not to block any access gates.
Eastham Country Park
Eastham country park is located on the opposite side of the River Mersey to Liverpool Airport. From this location, you are directly opposite the end of Runway 27 and the start of Runway 9. As it is quite a distance diagonally across the river to the airport, when the Runway 27 departures fly over this place they're already quite high. This means on a day with low cloud, many aircraft will not be visible but, you can always hear them. Eastham Country Park is located about 1 mile from Junction 5 of the M53 Motorway and can also be reached on the A41. There is a Merseyrail station 1 mile away - Bromborough. At the site there is a large stone built jetty opposite the runway that goes about 4 meters into the river. There is the main attraction - a large Country Park and forest, a hotel just across the road and an Ice Cream shop tucked away in the trees.
Wirral Council Eastham Country Park information page
http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001004.html
Locations to Avoid
Location
Regular Traffic
Ryanair and easyJet both have hubs at Liverpool. The mainstay of an afternoon's spotting will consist of plenty of Ryanair, a little less easyJet, then everything else. You will sometimes see the Airbus Belugas pass overhead travelling to and from Hawarden.
Scheduled Airlines
- EasyJet (A319 & A320)
- FlyBe (DHC8)
- Ryanair (737-800)
- Wizz Air (A320)
Charter Airlines
None
Cargo Airlines
None
Ad-hoc Airlines
- Alitalia (A320) during the summer for occasional student exchange visits
- Various airlines use the airport for football charters from across Europe and the UK
Facilities and Transportation
- Bus services operate to the airport everyday from in and around Liverpool and the surrounding area.
External Links
Forum for Liverpool John Lennon Airport For LPL spotters and aviation enthusiasts as well as aviation professionals to discuss all aspects of the airport.
North West Air News Website primarily for Liverpool Airport but covers other airports in the North West and has interesting pages on local and other aviation history.