LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 13 August 2008 : by S Carmichael
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
I wish I'd read these reviews before we decided to fly from Liverpool again. Firstly, do not think
that you will be able to park opposite the terminal as you used to, as the car park is a building
site. I presume it is multi-storey car park they are building, so that should improve things when
it is finished. Give yourself plenty time to walk from their long stay car park, as there is no
transport between the car park and the terminal building. Secondly, if you are flying Ryanair, do
not expect a speedy check-in, as some passengers do not understand that 15kg means 15kg. Ryanair,
then allows the passengers to swap items between suitcases, and then re-weigh them. If I had my
way, I would make them go to the back of the queue. Thirdly, even though you proceed straight to
security, it could take up to 50 mins, even though their sign says queue will take 15 mins from top
of stairs. What they have done is set up a two tier system for security, blackmailing people into
paying £2 each to "fast track" through the system. Don't be fooled. Even though you get to the top
of the stairs, there is a long queue still to go. When we complained to a member of the security
staff, they said to write and complain to Peel Holdings. So if anyone knows where they are based,
please let us know.
LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 1 August 2008 : by C Stephenson
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
This time I was forced to pay the extra £2 security charge on top of the normal security charge
(included in the fare charges) and the extra security charge (also included). This was because, with
only 15 minutes before the gate was due to close, there was an alarmingly long queue for security.
My much resented extra £2 got me through one of several turnstiles (why so many?) to a big empty
area from where you could see the cramped "normal" queuing area (partly on the stairs). Then I
joined the short queue, which turned out to lead to a single security check. This was very slow, and
I probably only gained a few minutes for the £2. I had no time left for breakfast, so had to skip
the cafe in favour of going straight to the gate (which is in a kind of temporary structure). Here
there was chaos, as two flights were leaving from adjacent gates and the queues had become mingled.
There was virtually no seating for my gate, and no-one was around to organise the chaos. Luckily, my
flight went first, on time, so I didn't have to suffer for too long. An airport to avoid.
LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 26 July 2008 : by David Forshaw
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
We arrived at the airport at 5.05 am in plenty of time, or so we thought, for our flight to Nice,
boarding at 7.35. We joined the EasyJet queue, already beyond the roped off area, and wondered why a
staff member was rushing around, shouting ‘Anyone for Faro’ (and later Malaga), thinking people had
arrived very late for their flight and needed chivvying along. We soon found out how wrong we were.
15 minutes or so into the queue, I looked behind to note that the queue now extended way beyond the
roped off area as far as the escalator and noted that three of the desks were not manned and one was
used just for these so-called late arrivals or people with heavy or golf-clubbed shaped luggage.
However we got through, checking in at 5.50 and decided to go straight towards the security area
rather than have a snack on British soil. How wise we were. The queue here extended way back from
the stairs towards the café area and we noticed people coming up the stairs for some reason. We
found that if they had not done so and paid the £2 fast-track fee it seems highly likely that they
would have missed their flight. (I have never come across this kind of bizarre hidden charge in any
other airport.) We decided to stick it out. By the time we had got through this particular aspect of
the nightmare that this airport offers, we had time for a hastily drunk cup of coffee and rushed
down to the gate where in 5 minutes we were boarding. If we had arrived a little later in the
airport entrance it could have been very possible that we would have missed the flight. EasyJet have
lists of all the passengers so they know how many people are going to turn up, so both check-in and
security staff should be made available accordingly. The whole process shows extremely bad
management, and despite the obvious complaints from several others in this survey, little seems to
be happening to redress the problems that arise.
LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 24 June 2008 : by I McDonald
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
This airport's systems are truly incompetent. The car park device tried to refuse my pre-booking
credit card and I later found that I had been charged the normal car parking fee as well as the pre-
booking fee. Telephoning to correct this, I was put through endless rigmaroles and sub-menus,
before the system said- we are putting you though now- and promptly crashed! So I had to enter
this matter on the airport's website comments board - without you may note, an email address - a
true sign of incompetence deniability (we never received your complaint!) They promise a reply
generously "within seven days". I am not holding my breath.
LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 23 May 2008 : by J Coyle
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
Arrivals are dreadful, hanging about waiting outside in the cold if two planes arrive at the same
time. The worst experience is the security queue created by an inability to process passengers in an
efficient manner and then having the nerve to seek to charge them to escape from the queue which
they created in the first place by charging £2.
LIVERPOOL AIRPORT review : 30 April 2008 : by Thomas Kidd
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
Tips for the airport. Allow 45 minutes to get through security screening. You won't see the queue
until you get down the stairs and then you'll be too late. Ryanair check in can be just as bad.
Easyjet is reasonable. Food is grim. Ryanair serve some really good destinations, but on my last
trip it was just a series of constant waiting in line which means I will no longer use the aiprort
for two night getaways. Parking has become a pain and if someone drops you off/picks you up they
need to enter the car park. With a direct train link to Manchester, that airport is a better and
quicker option (particularly terminal 3). The last time I used the airport I scored it a 2 star, but
it gets worse.
Liverpool Airport by C Stephenson
23 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
Having flown to and from Liverpool regularly over the last 15 years, I've seen many developments and
improvements. Unfortunately, the management seem determined to take a step backwards each time they
step forwards. Although it's a large modern facility, this is now one the most annoying airports
I've come across. Airport management here try to annoy their customers via a two-pronged attack:
firstly by treating everyone as naughty children, and secondly by blatantly attempting to extract
every possible penny as they are processed. Lots of little things add up to spoil the experience:
innumerable notices pointing out what you must not do, and what punishment will follow. Endless
announcements about how you will be penalised for non-compliance with regulations. Over-officious
passport control. An extra charge of a pound if you catch a taxi. Two pounds to avoid the
deliberately-created security queue, specially arranged so you're likely to have to stand on the
stairs. Virtually no public seating, to force you into one of the food and drink outlets.
Advertising on the departures board which blots out the whole list every few seconds. The only fun
to be had is in the challenge of avoiding putting my hand in my pocket for the duration of the
airport stage of the flight. Childish? Perhaps, but that's what they seem to encourage.
Liverpool Airport by Geoffrey McNab
23 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
From the outside Liverpool Airport looks new and gleaming. However the rapid expansion of the low
cost airlines seems to have put the terminal under some strain. The internal layout is weird for an
airport. From check-in on the ground floor one travels up via escalators and stairs to the third
floor where there are several retail outlets. Then, once past the first security stage it is down a
flight of stairs to the second floor for the security searches and into the departures area also on
the second floor. All round the terminal are signs urging you to buy a fast track pass for £2 but I
used the ordinary queue and found it to be pretty quick and smooth with cheerful staff. It is
annoying, of course to have to remove belt and shoes but the staff seemed cheerful and efficient
when I passed through. Once into the departures area it is a bit confusing for first time
passengers. The first departures board I could see was very small and high up on the wall and hard
to read. Most departure screens are far too small are difficult to read and have duty free adverts
as well as the gate information. A maze of corridors and stairs leads to the departure gates, most
of which seem to be temporary portakabin type structures. The central area has a very large bar with
windows, several of which are painted over for some reason so you can’t really see out properly. The
whole departure area seems cluttered, slightly claustrophobic and has very little seating other than
in the bars and food outlets. There is seating at some of the remoter gate areas but the departures
monitors do not show from which gate the flight leaves. The signs helpfully say what time the gate
will open beside each flight number but do not display the actual gate, thus keeping everyone close
to the shops, retails outlets etc. I was travelling through mid afternoon on a weekday so it wasn’t
busy. I should hate to be in this departure area on a crowded day when the peak holiday seasons are
under way.
Liverpool Airport by S Foster
16 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
The airport and surrounds is very much a 'works in progress' so minor hiccups can be expected when
trying to park the car but on this occasion I managed to find somewhere within sight of the terminal
so that kept me on schedule at least! I must say I like LPL airport for its 'parochial-ness' and
there is always someone within hailing distance to offer assistance. Pristine it isn't, but lets
just blame it on builders dust.
Liverpool Airport by Chris Carre
21 February 2008 Customer Rating : 
They need to be more organised. Stood in a security queue for over 45 mins. I would gladly have paid
the £2 fast-track fee but a similar line at Manchester only takes 15 minutes so didn't think I
needed to - put some signs up to give an estimate of waiting time. Plastic bags for your liquids are
freely available - from a vending machine at 50p a go.T here was hardly a space in the car park to
be found, and on return signposting was so bad it took me 10 mins to find the exit.
Liverpool Airport by D Davies
19 February 2008 Customer Rating :
A family of five arrived two hours before check in at , having waited in line to check bags in we
then went straight through security and was told to pay £2 each for fast-track. Why not put the
price on the ticket ? We were told it would take 45 minutes to clear security unless you paid the
money. What message does that send out for Liverpool? We eventually cleared security after the
allocated boarding time and had to board straight away, stressed annoyed! I hoped that this Airport
could develop to be an asset to the City, (I would have spent more than ten Pound feeding my
children once through security) but this experience just makes me sad , it is very poor and reflects
very badly on this City.
Liverpool Airport by Keith Pearse
7 February 2008 Customer Rating :
Liverpool Airport is just a joke. The experience starts with a long stay car park with a credit card
recognition system that does not recognise the appropriate credit card. After you've checked in for
your flight, which is ok, it's time to get through security. This will take an eternity due to the
new 'fast track' concept. All this has done is reduce the number of security gates available to
travellers by half, unless you pay an additional £2 per passenger. As a result of this there are
always massive queues at anywhere near peak travel times. To avoid these queues you can pay the
extra, if the machines are working, to join the slightly smaller queue. On the day we travelled
there was complete chaos tempers flaring, children crying and people jumping the fast track
turnstiles. It used to be such a pleasure using Liverpool Airport but now the extra journey time to
the other regional airports is worth the effort.
Liverpool Airport by B Graham
5 February 2008 Customer Rating :
Car parking is horrendous. Need to walk for what seems miles after parking your car - if you can
find a space to park in! Check-in is generally ok. Food and rest-room facilities are very poor -
bordering on inadequate - they feel dirty! Passport control and hand baggage checks are whoefully
slow. Then be prepared to walk up and down stairs for fun following extremely poor signage before
boarding your plane. I've not had a good experience at this airport on the numerous times I've used
it. I do everything I can to avoid it, including a 2-hour drive to another airport!
Liverpool Airport by Steve Rayner
29 January 2008 Customer Rating :
We arrived at the airport at 0510, parked on the long stay and checked in our baggage at 0520.
Stopped for breakfast at a fast food outlet land side. Joined the up to now unseen security queue at
0605. Frustration followed as it became apparent that we were not going to make the flight at the
current rate of progress so we switched to the Fast Track queue at 0635. Two pounds extra per person
collected by staff as the ticket machines had broken down. Fast track is joke as we were still a
good 20yds of double queue from the ex-ray machines at the bottom of the hidden stairs! At 0650 the
last call came for our flight (still 10yds to go) and we left the queue to join a short last minute
queue on the right of the other queing passengers. 5 more minutes and we were running barefoot down,
belt, shoes and bag in hand to our gate. At least we made the flight unlike 10 other passengers who
had the indignity of having their baggage returned to them. The Ryanair flight waited at least 30
mins for these passengers but lets face it - who would assume the flight would wait - I reckon the
10 gave up at 7-00! We took off at 0750 due entirely to these delays. Nowhere was a warning of long
delays given. No - 30mins from here signs. When are they going to get more security desks?
Liverpool Airport by A Johnson
24 January 2008 Customer Rating :
I was outraged to see a fast-track system in operation at Liverpool airport for people willing to
pay 2 pounds to get more quickly through security. To incentivize people to use this fast track
service, the "normal" queue was deliberately maintained at a sufficiently off-putting length.
Comments from the security staff as to how we were "leaving it a bit late" for boarding after
waiting 30 minutes in the queue added further insult to injury. Exploiting increased security
measures to make such easy profit is disgraceful. Airports should be aiming to improve service for
all passengers not just those willing to pay!!
Liverpool Airport by J Potts
17 January 2008 Customer Rating :
This airport is dreadful and not helped by the attitude of some of the security staff. Unfortunately
some of us have to use this place in transit and have no option, but you should avoid if at all
possible. for example : 6 January Arrived Easyjet from Berlin - had to walk almost as far from plane
to arrivals area, mostly outside. Toilets in main terminal disgusting and doorlocks didn't work.
Went to departures for connecting flight and wife and child went ahead - arranged to meet at
entrance to security. When my other child and I went towards security we were stopped by one of the
rudest security staff I have ever come across - he told us we weren't allowed past that point (no
signs told us we couldn't) and that in any case we were only allowed one bag each (we were carrying
those of wife and child) wouldn't believe us and suggested I ring my wife - I asked how and he said
'on your mobile of course' I told him I didn't have one and he said I 'must have'. He eventually
agreed to look downstairs and returned to say they weren't there. Eventually he looked again after I
had scoured terminal building and found they were (they had been there all the time) When we went to
the scanners. My son asked the security person very politely if he could treat the item carefully
as it was an accordian - this idiot replied 'congratulations' and then muttered something abusive
under his breath. When we got to the departure lounge we found all the seats had been removed ! -
doubtless a way of keeping people moving and spending more in the shops. European capital of
Culture? what a joke - how many visitors would return after this type of experience.
Liverpool Airport by Thomas Kidd
16 December 2007 Customer Rating :
This airport's services and design seems to be guided by the principle of extracting maximum profit
in return for maximum passenger misery. Seating areas and speed of transit have been sacrificed for
shopping space and grim food outlets. Despite 'modernising the airport' passengers continue to have
to walk across the tarmac in all weather to board their flights or even worse get those pesky buses.
The idea of 'fast track' through security, for the price of two pounds depends upon having a slow
track for ordinary customers. And, yes getting through security can be very slow. Most Servisair
staff who work on behalf of RyanAir can be relied upon not to know anything about service. Passport
control are not a good advert for a first point of contact for overseas visitors though today, for
the first time in well over fifty arrivals, one of the staff said hello before looking at my
passport. The passport queues continue to get worse as more flights use the airport. Parking and
pick up/drop off, which used to be brilliant is getting more complex and illogical. And I think a
one pound has been introduced for taking a black taxi outside the terminal. How cheap can you get?
All in all the main selling points of convenience and economy are being eroded. On a positive note
Easyjet are actually improving their service. I use the airport a minimum of 10 times per year and
it has gone from my top three international airports to the most irritating in the last two years.
Well done to all you managers.
Liverpool Airport by D Knowles
11 September 2007 Customer Rating :
GBP2 to get through security on the fast track, what a liberty. The slower you are checking people
through the non fast track route, the more the queue builds up, and the more GBP2 coins you get
because people are about to miss their flights. That's some incentive to work badly. Scrap this system
and put all your resources into getting everybody through security quickly. We've already paid for it
in our ticket price and airport taxes etc.
Liverpool Airport by L Cadwallader
11 September 2007 Customer Rating :
Through Liverpool again for the second time this summer and in view of all the criticism of the London
airports recently, I thought I'd see if my previous comments on Liverpool needed revising. In the
event, there was plenty of time to assess the place as we were delayed there for 8 hours by Ryanair!
Parking is still fairly easy, though how much more they can extend the car parks I'm not sure. Check
in obviously depends on the airline, but the Servisair desk seems to be very busy dealing with Ryanair
clients. Is this because of baggage excess charges? Special announcements are not always easy to
hear and could do with repeating more than once, e.g. the ones warning of delays. Landside, there is
now nowhere to sit except in the food outlets, so if you want to eat your own food you have to sit on
the floor in the one open space upstairs before security. Also landdside, there seems to be only one
screen displaying departures and yet passengers are continually reminded to check the screens to avoid
missing their flights. We did actually go for a coffee to get a seat for a while, but the single
screen was out of sight around a corner and one of us had to keep getting up to check it for further
information. I'd have thought that if the airport makes a point of advising passengers to check
screens, it would make sure that there were more screens to be viewed. Security seemed fairly
efficient with an extra attendant at the top of the stairs to inspect boarding passes and remind
passengers about present restrictions. Airside there is more free seating, despite the expansion of
the food and other retail outlets. It helps if you're familiar with the routine, though, especially
that easyJet departs from the left hand end after security and Ryanair from the right hand end. We
don't usually use the food outlets, but this time we did, both landside and airside, and in each case
had to ask for the table (and floor) to be cleaned. The staff seemed reasonably obliging, though.
During the course of our delay, we did discover that the screens and the public announcements did not
always agree and for a time the screen was still listing our flight as likely to leave at 16.25 when
it had already been delayed at least twice more. The arrival of security "heavies" near to our gate
prior to a further delay announcement at 20.30 suggested that such delays and the concomitant
passenger discontent are not uncommon. Returning to Liverpool a week later was a much easier
experience and even the atmosphere in the passport area seemed more relaxed and less officious than on
our previous trips. The only minor hiccup was the queue to get out of the terminal because the taxi
rank seems to be right outside the door so there was a log jam of trolleys everywhere. Even so, from
landing to exit from the car park took only 35 minutes. With one or two little tweaks here and there
Liverpool can still be a fairly passenger-friendly airport. There certainly doesn't appear to be any
of the major discomforts experienced in London - even with an 8 hours delay.
Liverpool Airport by L Cadwallader
23 July 2007 Customer Rating :
We continue to use Liverpool rather than Manchester wherever possible,
partly because of Easyjet, but also because access to the airport itself
is so much easier. We don't find that the on-airport parking is all
that expensive (though the introduction of a booking charge seems
unnecessary) when it's pre-booked, and we accept that we may have a bit
of a walk from the car to the terminal building - but that's OK unless
it's raining. This time we travelled with hand luggage only, checking
in online and so skipping the check-in queues - only there weren't any
for Easyjet! We didn't opt to pay £2 each for "speedy security" or
whatever the new money-making scheme is called, which was just as well
since there were no queues art security either. Less than 10 minutes
after arriving at the car park we were in the departure lounge and you
can't complain about that. We never use the food outlets, but since the
restrictions on hand luggage were introduced we have taken to buying
food and drink for the flight at Boots, using their special deal (3
items for £5?) which seems good value. The boarding process was handled
efficiently, though having checked in online we had to watch the screens
to find out which was to be our departure gate. On our return we had to
wait for 5 minutes before a stand was available, but disembarked
straight onto a bus to take us to arrivals. The entrance to the
arrivals area could have done with a good clean (everywhere else seems
OK, though) with litter and cigarette butts all over the place. The one
area of the Liverpool "experience" which I find uncongenial, though, is
the passage through passport control. One doesn't expect to be welcomed
with open arms, but the atmosphere can be frosty to say the least. One
gets the feeling that any minor infringement of a rigid procedure will
earn the offender a severe reprimand e.g. taking a short cut through the
"chicane" even when there isn't a long queue to be processed.
LIVERPOOL AIRPORT REVIEWS : Page
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