International flights to resume from Liverpool this weekend

International flights are returning to Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) from tomorrow, Saturday, May 16.

Hungary-based budget carrier Wizz Air will launch the first of a regular service between the city and Budapest.

The service will be a twice-weekly link and will be the only passenger flights out of Liverpool, apart from the 11 weekly departures to the Isle of Man.

Loganair operates the route which is used by island residents travelling to the mainland to access cancer treatments. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic the flights are also transporting an average of 800kg of personal protective equipment (PPE) each day to frontline health workers on the island.

Wizz Air was one of the first airlines to reinstate international flights earlier this month when it started operations between London Luton and the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

LJLA said further flights could follow the Wizz Air link, with easyJet gearing up to re-start some of its schedule, while budger carrier rival Ryanair said it hopes to operate 40% of its routes by July 1.

Robin Tudor, LJLA head of communications, said: “We expect to see the return of our first international flight this Saturday, with Wizz Air returning to operate a twice-weekly service to Budapest, with further expansion of their schedule expected in the coming weeks in line with the lifting of various countries’ restrictions.

“Ryanair previously announced that they plan to re-start many of their services across their network in July, and we expect to see some flights from Liverpool returning from 1st July onwards.

“We may also see the return of some easyJet services shortly, too, with operations on domestic flights likely to be the first to return to Liverpool, possibly by late June.”

However, he warned: “The choice of destinations and frequency of these returning services will be considerably less than pre-coronavirus levels, but we hope to have further clarification over the coming days regarding these and additional services from other airlines.”

In the meantime, the airport is carrying out a considerable amount of work to prepare it for the return of larger numbers of passengers and flights than in recent weeks, in line with the measures required to ensure the safety of both employees and passengers.