LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport has recruited local business people to promote KLM’s long-haul flights via Amsterdam.

The Dutch airline launched a summer schedule in March to offer passengers from Liverpool more connections via its Amsterdam hub.

It is backing up that launch with a marketing campaign featuring real flyers who use the KLM link, first launched in 2009, to travel worldwide.

Liverpool and Knowsley Chambers of Commerce asked their members if they wanted to take part, while the University of Liverpool found students who used KLM to fly to Merseyside.

The volunteers have appeared on billboards, in newspapers and on social media sites.

Katie Elliott, head of marketing for Peel Airports, said: “The support of key organisations across the region has been tremendous.

“With their help, we found a number of individuals who were really keen to get involved and publicly show their support for services from their local airport and to highlight the importance of the KLM flights.”