LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  19 November 2009 : by J Tennant   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Having used Liverpool on countless occasions over the past few years it remains my first choice. It is easily accessible, parking cheap and secure and facilities are as good as any other. As for the moans about passing through security - get there early when check in opens, or pay for fast track. Only two gripes from me, why can't the gate numbers be posted earlier and passport checks at arrivals can be grim and unwelcoming.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  5 November 2009 : by L Cadwallader   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Almost a repetition of our July transit, except the airport seemed busier. Security was free flowing and we were through in less than 10 minutes, despite thorough, but polite, checks (I was frisked, the soles of my feet were inspected and even my deodorant was tested and logged!) Returning through passport control was just as swift and again those on duty seemed pleasant. Another hitch at the car park barrier though: this time the machine did not recognise my debit card when we first arrived, so we had to take a ticket and sort it out at the multi-storey car park office on return, but that was easy enough. Liverpool still suits us fine, because we have a routine that (so far) has always worked: hand luggage only if possible permitting online check-in, no hanging about landside so that we are through security as early as possible, even if this means we have a longer wait till we board.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  19 October 2009 : by R Fairweather   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

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Facilities are okay but security check is a nightmare. Took us 45 mins to cleared security because they don't have enough staff/checking facilities. They have a pay system for fast track in security which has lots of staff and facilities but hardly anyone using them. Everyone else stands around for ages. I think the plan is to force everyone to pay, which is another example of ripping passengers off.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  3 September 2009 : by Miles Canne   (Spain)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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Shabby, badly maintained, hell bent on making money - trying to charge for passing through security is as low as it gets and probably of dubious legality - and steadily getting worse. Like the previous poster, I live in Madrid and frequently visit family and friends in the north west of England. I started using Liverpool reluctantly when BA pulled out of Manchester in 2007, but in future, I will look for alternatives.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  17 August 2009 : by Antonio Perez   (Spain)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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Me and my partner live in Madrid, and fly frequently to see his parents in Lancashire. We use Liverpool airport, and have been doing so for 5 years now. What used to be a cute little provincial airport, has turned into a money making machine that ignores the basic needs of passengers. It is bad enough that all the space in the waiting area has been taken up by seedy bars, and that they only tell you your gate number at the last moment, so that you are forced to stay in the waiting area to "shop, eat and enjoy", as they cheekily suggest in the displays. But the absolute degradation is the security area. They have created a problem to be able to charge to solve it! The security area used to be OK, but they reserved only one or two tracks for "normal" customers and built a Fast Track lane that takes a disproportionate part of resources and staff. The morale, is that the waiting time, if you do not wish to pay the extra three pounds, can be unacceptably long. They also have failed to improve any other aspect of the security area, such as providing more space to queue up, or to prepare your luggage (separating metallic items, etc). Additionally, part of the staff in Security is rude, very rude, they tend to bully people that they know are not going to answer back, because all they want to do is to get on their planes. It is the worst airport, I have ever used, and we are seriously considering to switch to Manchester, even if that implies a stopover in London.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  9 August 2009 : by S Butler   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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My husband and I have just returned from a two week holiday in France, having used Liverpool airport for the first time. We hoped our horrific experience was a one off, but reading other peoples reviews we are horrified to see that it seems the norm, and wonder if we'll ever use this airport again. Our flight was 7am, we arrived well before 5am, were almost at the front of the queue to check in when it opened just after 5am. At this point we were relaxed. We went up the escalator and being so early purchased a quick coffee then went to go through to departures - still with an hour to an hour and a half to go before take off. We were shocked to see that what seemed to be a short queue to go through security (not realising the queue continued down stairs and behind a screen) was now around every wall of the airport. Still, we thought, we've loads of time. By the time we were 3/4 way down the queue we could hear one particular member of the airport staff talking to customers ahead of us in a "bouncer like" tone. When we got to what we thought was the end of the queue we were met by this "bouncer" who informed us that the queue continued down the stairs and would take between 25-35 minutes more. At this point he was giving passengers an option, which amounted to rip off or get off, ie if you don't pay £3 each to go through the "fast" lane we'll take all your baggage off and you'll miss your flight. We resisted this "threat" for a while, but as the queue seemed to have come to a standstill, we then gave in to pressure and bought the tickets to go through the barrier - only to be met with another queue, also hardly moving and the worry that we weren't going to get through on time despite paying the charge. By this time many passengers were getting angry, frustrated and upset, to the point where I heard an official looking member of staff say to a colleague "stay here - on crowd control"! From there it was panic to get through the scanners, get shoes, belts etc back on and run! We made it and I must admit, until I read other reviews, I thought they would never unload everyones bags because of their inefficiency (if a machine has truthfully gone down, they could have opened up the barriers) - now I recognise that these greedy, inefficient operators have no concern for their customers and might well have carried out their threat, and like I said at the beginning, we probably won't attempt to fly from Liverpool again. The ironic thing is that if we'd got through in plenty of time, we would have spent more than £3 each in the shops. Anyway, we did get on the plane.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  3 August 2009 : by B Williams   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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Liverpool airport is a set up to extract as much money as possible from the passenger. Parking is extortionate - around GBP20 in long-stay for 18 hours parking - and contrary to their publicity, the internet booking system using anpr cameras never seems to work. Security is slow and humourless, although I can't complain at the thoroughness. I agree with other reviewers that queues do seem to be made artificially slow in order to persuade you to buy a £3ticket for the fast trac' queue. Airside, the main departure board is in the bar area, and gates are not called until they absolutely have to - again, could this be a scam to keep you in the bar where you can spend money? Dublin, by contrast, allocates gates several hours before departure so you can go for a quiet sit down if you want. The Ryanair gates are in a permanent portakabin, with no creature comforts whatsoever - even seats. From the moment your flight is called, you will be standing, so be aware. Overall, I use Liverpool because of the convenience of the Ryanair and Easyjet flights, and certainly not for the airport itself - I wish I never had to set foot in the place. Just try not to think about the space, convenience and ease of Manchester, just a few miles up the road, or you may burst into tears.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  31 July 2009 : by L Cadwallader   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Either we are lucky or other people leave it to the last minute to make their way airside, but again we had no delays. We were travelling with hand luggage only so went straight to security when we arrived. Plenty of warning about security procedures were provided before we reached security itself, all the security channels were in use and the staff were thorough, but swift and friendly. Though the airport was busy, we were through to the departure lounge in minutes, having parked our car in the further long stay car park just 20 minutes previously. It actually took longer to buy a newspaper in WH Smiths than to pass through security. Our return transit was equally easy with no hold-ups at passport control and even some smiles from those on duty! The only hiccup came as we tried to exit the car park and the machine demanded a surcharge of over £70. We pressed the emergency button and spoke to a disembodied voice who asked for our prepaid booking reference. Luckily we had it right there in front of us in the car, so the surcharge was overridden. It does show that you need to take your booking details with you, not just the card with which you prepaid your parking fee.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review :  26 July 2009 : by Anne Donnelly   (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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Used to be quick to get through Liverpool Airport but not any more. Parking a pain, security even worse. Fast track is now GBP3 , staff make sure you do not have more than one piece of hand luggage. Then the jobsworth looks at the boarding pass as though it is the first time they have ever seen such a thing - it is a good russ to slow down security and force people to buy a fast-track ticket.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 15 July 2009 : by L Naylor

Customer Rating : 1/5

Flew to Madrid for a weekend. Our flight out was okay (apart from the usual grumbles of car parking and paying for plastic bags). However on return we had to wait over 1 hour for our baggage to be taken from the plane 50 yards outside the baggage hall and loaded onto the baggage conveyor belts. There was nearly a riot due to the lack of information and the fact that there were no other flights landing so nobody could see any reason for the delay. Upon asking we were told staff were too busy to get our bags off the plane and into the baggage collection hall. A complete joke. I've used this airport twice and both times it has held me up over an hour on arrival into the UK. Avoid.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 17 June 2009 : by P Harrison

Customer Rating : 1/5

Last Sunday I went to Liverpool airport to pick up my son returning from holiday. Following the signs and road markings, ‘Drop off’ and ‘Pick-up & Short Stay’ I naturally followed the ‘Pick-up’ directions imagining it would be 10 minutes free as it had been in the past. However, the ‘Pick-up and Short Stay’ lane directs you into the new multi-storey car park and to get out of it you have to pay £1 so I had to go and find a machine to pay the £1. It is interesting that there were 2 bays for people to pull into whilst they went to get a ticket. Was it anticipated by the airport owners that a lot of unsuspecting motorists who had simply come to the airport to pick someone up would find themselves in the wrong area and be charged for it? A cynic might say, “That is the whole idea”. My son and his friends were waiting in the drop-of area so I had to pay the pound, drive out of the airport and back in again to the ‘Drop-off’ zone to pick them up. I have previously picked up members of the family from this airport. The directions used to be to the ‘Drop off and Pick-up’ area and the time allowed was 20 minutes free of charge. It now only 10 minutes! There are signs advising incoming motorists of the charges but the time to read these and take the information in whilst driving past and looking at the road markings, which seem to change every time I visit, is very short. Having read through the comments on this site I am sorry to say that I have experienced nearly all the situations that have been mentioned, long queues, having to pay every time you turn a corner, lack of information, poor seating, etc. Unfortunately although I live in the city, I am afraid that I have found Manchester which is much bigger and more complex, to be a far better organised airport, more congenial and cheaper as well.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 10 June 2009 : by Andy Grogan

Customer Rating : 1/5

The security line is artificially made longer to try and force people to pay 3 pounds extra to get through the fast track. The staff are unmotivated, and the management are unaware that, although the passengers are leaving the country - they are still potentially repeat customers. I will avoid Liverpool and that will be my advice to all my friends and family.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 10 June 2009 : by R Brook

Customer Rating : 2/5

Check in is fine, the entry hall is spacious. Security queues can be long, and surely queuing down the stairs isn't a good idea. The last time (May 2009) there was no queue and I didn't notice the fast lane £2 charge (see many other reviews on this page). Have they listened and abolished it, I wonder? Inside, it's a bit of a labyrinth but once in the departure lounge there's a good cafe at the northern end which does a very good English breakfast. The usual range of shops. There's adequate seating near the gates. Arrival is really dismal - a bus ride, in through the 'tradesmen's entrance' and a long walk up and down stairs to Immigration, where the queue can be long. No sense of any welcome. Overall, a typical British airport; shabby, ill-designed and one gets the impression that the passenger is something of an inconvenience and only there to be processed to have money extracted from them. Have the management traveled to any airports anywhere else in the world to see how they do things?

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 8 June 2009 : by R Eveleens

Customer Rating : 2/5

At arrival we were bussed to the terminal, which took about 15 minutes after landing until we were moving. I understand why, since when we reached the passport control, we had to wait at the upper level, down the stairs and then in another long line. This at a noon arrival time with just 1 flight have arrived just before us. Probably a good idea to open more then 2 passport checks? At departure, quick check-in, and security was a breeze, just 1 person in front of me since I was quite early to go through, but I can understand longer lines are formed when there are more departures as there are only 3 scanner machines, and only 2 are open. There are no public seating spaces in the lounge, just from 'restaurants' or bars, for 'free' seating you have to go to the gate area. The price for drinks after security, if you buy them in Boots, vending machines or even at the outlets are not too bad, so can't fault them for that.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 21 May 2009 : by M Coleman

Customer Rating : 1/5

The gate at which your plane is leaving from is not posted until about 20 mins before the plane is due to leave, this means everyone is hanging around the main area obviously a ploy by the airport to get people shopping at the overpriced shops. When the gate number is eventually posted, we expected that the gate would be open and passengers would be boarding straight away, but we were still waiting at the gate for at least 20 mins and when they eventually started 'boarding' people, it was only taking their boarding cards and allowing them to move closer to the door another 30 mins of waiting before we made it on the plane. We will not go back to that airport again.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 20 May 2009 : by L Campbell

Customer Rating : 1/5

Rude and unhelpful staff. Long delays at security, only one machine to scan online tickets! This airport is not run for the benefit of passenger, give yourself 3 hours to clear security, you will need it!

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 5 May 2009 : by R Lawrence

Customer Rating : 2/5

Arrived at Liverpool - aircraft was parked at far end of airport so had to wait for bus - bus came but apparently needed staff to marshal passengers to said bus - none to be seen! After 10 mins the buses just parked right outside the aircraft steps. Passport control for arrival at Liverpool is a joke. Queuing outside then queuing up a staircase not able to move. Then the infamous Liverpool passport control - treated like criminals! Lastly, car park - number plate readers useless couldn't get out - many complaining whilst I was there. One word - "shambles"!

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 5 May 2009 : by T Kidd

Customer Rating : 2/5

Since last writing a review I must have passed through the airport 6-8 times. No major changes. However my last trip, taken in April 09, got me narked enough to write again. As the airport parking is so chaotic and expensive I tend to cab it or bus it to the airport. The cab driver tells me that the airport management are again trying to increase the fees they charge drivers for picking up or dropping off outside the terminal. Of course the charges will be directly passed on to customers. Usual queue from the top of stairs at security, although on this occasion staff were polite. 10 out of 10. On the way back in at 22.00 for some reason the plane parked miles from the terminal, we got on to a bus in the rain and then the bus stopped at the far end of the terminal. It took 35 minutes just to get to passport control and then another 35 to get through. Heathrow T5 is quicker! This is a regional airport with all the disadvantages of a congested hub. As for getting from long stay parking to the departure lounge including checking in baggage in 15 mins as reported elsewhere on this site, I must be cursed as I have never in the past 3 years taken less than 1 hour. Using Manchester next week with an airline that does not charge for baggage. The parking costs are cheaper than the Pool and that's with indoor parking and covered walk way!

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 1 May 2009 : by Amy Smith

Customer Rating : 1/5

Liverpool airport used to be a real pleasure to fly from - now I will do anything to avoid flying into or from there, even though my family live in Liverpool. They introduced the 'Fast Lane' charge because of the cost of laying on extra security for flights to New York. That flight has now been dropped, but the cost remains. It used to be a breeze to get through security - now I have to arrive two hours before my flight, because they've deliberately blocked off scanning machines and artificially created massive queues just to get through. The security staff are rude and pushy (one actually told me I had to hand over curry powder, as it was a liquid - I kid you not) and the car parking is a joke-- it's extremely expensive and there are all these silly lanes and one-way rules so that a simple pick-up or drop-off is torture. Finally, even when arriving on an EU flight, you are in for a shock when you try to get through immigration. There is a massive queue that takes at least half an hour to get through, winding around and up the stairs. Even better is that Ryanair passengers are ushered through a separate door, so you usually have two planeloads of people, one trailing up stairs, one trailing around the ground floor corner, fighting to join one immense queue for security. Doubtless they'll soon introduce a fast lane for getting through immigration.