LIVERPOOL AIRPORT  Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer review :  13 February 2010 by P Rushton   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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My wife has very poor sight. At the Passport control we were not allowed to go through together. I went first, then my wife was directed to another. She explained her sight problem and the member of staff shouted at her to "go over there" and pointed. Being nearly blind she couldn't see where to go. No help to an elderly, nearly blind, now very distressed woman. Never again will we use Liverpool. Would also like to know why you are required to walk so far on departure and go up and down so many stairs. I guess it is to force you past all the retail outlets.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer review :  2 February 2010 by P Thompson   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

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First impressions of the airport when you arrive are that it is modern and efficient. Don't let that fool you. Our departure time was 6am sO we had to wait in the airport for several hours. The building was freezing, dirty and had precious few chairs so sit on. Security was quick but then we were some if the first people through so there were no queues at that point. Once passed security however, you enter a world of tatty pre-fab looking buildings with ragged carpets, little heating so everyone was wandering around with hats and gloves on, dirty windown and loos with broken doors and hand-dryers hangIng off the walls. The departure gates are no better and as there are no airbridges you have to walk along steel covered pathways reminIscent of 1950's bus shelters. It was -5c at the time as well. This place is in serious need of investment and very soon.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer review :  24 January 2010 by L Cadwallader   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Our first time through in winter and we were surprised how busy the airport was, but there did seem to be plenty of flights leaving around 07.00. In spite of that, there were no problems and we were quickly through security which seemed well staffed. Big alterations are taking place in the pre-security area but whether this is designed to streamline security or just to provide more sales outlets is not clear. Immigration on return was not swift, but perhaps this was because there was a large party of Spanish students on our flight. The only real hiccup was with the number plate recognition system for the car park: the machine misread our number plate, printing out the letter G as a figure 6, so we had to present our booking reference on our return in order to exit without difficulty.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer review :  14 January 2010 by S Mitchell   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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My experience at Liverpool was dreadful. We had left 1.5 hours to get through to departures, have supper and browse the duty free. We ended up running to the gate . If the plane had taken off on time 2/3 of the passengers would have missed their flight. We used Liverpool's fast lane through security, we like literally hundreds of others had no choice. On the return journey the plane arrived late and along with 6 other plane loads of passengers we queued and queued. If Liverpool want to make money by accepting so many flights then the Border Staff must have the ability to work through them. all Border Staff slots were occupied so they couldn't do any more. The blame lies squarely with the airport's management.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer review :  30 December 2009 by Dolores Hagan   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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The terminal is poorly designed in my opinion, very dirty and (with the exception of approx 5 staff I have encountered over they years) the staff are rude. I agree with the comments below re the security area as well - it's filthy and cramped. I've paid the fast lane charges on occasion in Luton and found the service worth the fee however the fast track at Liverpool is simply hilarious! I could recount ad infinitum examples of my 'customer service' experiences at Liverpool but suffice to say, I must have missed the tick box to pay extra for 'good' customer service. Delays & cancellations happen, we customers appreciate there are circumstances beyond control - what is in your control is your attitude when you come to work. For a city that prides itself on it's sense of humour, the airport welcoming visitors to this great city and locals back home is the biggest joke - at our expense! Does anyone representing the airport care though?

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer review :  24 December 2009 by M Preston   (South Africa)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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I arrived at Liverpool Airport at 0530 for a 0710 flight, admittedly on one of the busiest days of the year. The checkin was so slow that along with many others, I was forced to pay an extra £3 for fasttrack security in order not to miss the flight. The£3 is insignificant, just an irritation that you have to queue to pay to join another queue. It would be better if they added it as a tax to improve security procedures for everyone, but to hold people to ransom, particularly when it also applies to infants and children, is wrong. The hotel shuttle is now forced to drop people off a good 200 yards from the terminal. In ice and snow and with suitcases, this is not clever or helpful.

LIVERPOOL AIRPORT customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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 customer 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.