Ryanair celebrates 20 years at Liverpool

Low-fares airline Ryanair has celebrated the 20th anniversary of its launch of services from Liverpool Airport.

The first flight offered by the airline from Liverpool, which launched in May 1988, connected the north-west city to Dublin.

Some 38 routes are now operated by Ryanair from Liverpool and the carrier is expecting to handle two million passengers on its flights from the hub this year.

Ryanair also claims that its presence sustains 2,000 local jobs and generates £100 million of tourism spending in the Merseyside region every year.

Airline spokeswoman Bridget Dowling said that more than nine million passengers have flown from Liverpool with Ryanair since 1988, claiming that the carrier's punctuality and low fares are the reason behind its success.

Katie Smorthit of Peel Airports Group said: "Ryanair were one of the pioneers of low-cost travel and certainly the first to offer such flights from Liverpool.

"The airport is unrecognisable from what is was like just ten years ago let alone 20 years ago and there is no doubt that Ryanair's decision to make Liverpool one of their key European bases just three years ago has helped to further transform the airport in recent years."

Posted by Graham Greenaway on the 21/05/2008 16:59:14
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