LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport (JLA) is one of the Britain's longest-established operational airports and was officially opened on July 1, 1933.
Today, it is firmly established as the UK's tenth busiest airport – and last year it handled over 5m passengers – an increase of around 3% on the previous year.
Passenger numbers have increased ten-fold since 1995.
In recent years, Liverpool has also been one of Britain's fastest-growing regional airports with flights to over 70 destinations.
Air routes into Liverpool were expanded in March, 2009, with a direct link to KLM's main international hub in Schiphol, Amsterdam, making it easier than ever before to travel to Liverpool City Region.
In May, 2010, daily flights between Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Schiphol Airport were increased to four flights.
The service connects Liverpool to more than 100 destinations on KLM's own intercontinental network and over 650 worldwide destinations across KLM's Skyteam partner networks.
This service has been instrumental in opening the Liverpool City Region up to a whole new audience of global travellers.
And the airport is equally well served when it comes to domestic travellers.
UK regional airline, Eastern Airways, introduced its first scheduled flights from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Aberdeen and Southampton, in July, 2009. The independent carrier operates three flights each weekday, making travelling to Liverpool City Region from both ends of the country easy and convenient for both business and leisure travellers.
Ryanair, Easyjet and WizzAir also operate into Liverpool JLA.
In February this year, easyJet began offering flights to Brussels – recognised as the administrative centre for many international associations.
JLA is owned by Vancouver Airport Services, which acquired a 65% majority share in Peel Airports from The Peel Group including JLA, in June, 2010.
Ongoing investment in facilities has helped to firmly establish JLA not only as a gateway to the North West but also as one of the primary airports in the UK.
In addition to the significant tourism benefits it brings to the Liverpool City Region, the airport is now one of Merseyside's major employers.
