Liverpool Airport seeks airline hub link
20.03.07
Liverpool Airport wants to link up with a major airline to become a 'gateway to the world'. Airport and civic leaders are seeking a tie up with a major European airline to provide more links to passengers within Europe and beyond.
Flights at the airport are currently dominated by the budget airlines, who do not offer hub services. This means that, although it is possible to fly from Liverpool and catch an onward flight to most parts of the world, passengers must collect their luggage and check in again at another airport.
But if the airport could link up with a regular services to a major European hub, passengers could fly from Liverpool to worldwide destinations and check in only once. Germany, Holland and Paris are the main targets for a hub link to Liverpool, suggesting Lufthansa, KLM and Air France as the potential partners.
Neil Pakey, managing director of Peel Airports, which owns Liverpool John Lennon, said: 'This has become one of our major projects, something we see as important as the airport grows. Liverpool is the only major city not to have a hub service that offers worldwide connections.'
'We are working with the Mersey Partnership, Business Liverpool and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, to seek a hub partner for the airport. It involves talking to major airlines.'
Mark Basnett, Director of Operations at The Mersey Partnership said: 'Hooking Liverpool Airport into an existing hub network would provide significant opportunity to attract more visitors to Merseyside. Securing such a hub operation in Europe would provide greater choice for passengers.'
'The Mersey Partnership, the Airport and Business Liverpool have commissioned a study into which hubs would work best and, together with our partners, we will use this research to prepare a case to put to various target airlines.'
Stephen Pearse, Liverpool Chamber's transport spokesman, added: 'If a hub operation via Liverpool can be achieved, it will be a major boost for Merseyside, especially in our Capital of Culture year.'
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