LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport is part of the Superport strategy and new chief executive Matthew Thomas is confident it will contribute even more to the regional economy.
Currently commercial director, Mr Thomas takes up his new role on March 1.
He said passenger traffic will grow at JLA in the second half of the year, particularly from Ryanair, and growth in freight volumes is on the wish list.
But he said JLA also has to consider its role in the wider economic picture, particularly the visitor economy.
He uses new operator Norwegian, the third largest budget carrier in Europe which introduces its first route at Liverpool to Copenhagen this spring, as an example.
He said: “We expect 75% of traffic to be inbound, different to what we normally have, which is exporting Liverpudlians to other parts of the world.
“The market is unbelievably competitive but we need to take the holistic view on the value of inbound tourism beyond the airport and consider the hotel and catering industry in the city.
“We have to look at how we can bring more overseas visitors here.”
From that point of view he said he sees his focus as more of a business development role.
He added: “Norwegian will hopefully bring more growth. We are also looking to introduce more airlines to Liverpool and we are looking at the leisure market.”
