Passengers provide welcome boost to Newcastle and Liverpool John Lennon airports

A surge in passenger numbers helped profit at Newcastle International Airport take off during its latest financial year.

The transport hub has reported a pre-tax profit of £10.2m for 2023, newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed.

The total comes after the airport posted a pre-tax profit of £135,000 for 2022.

The new accounts also show that its revenue rose from £64.6m to £79m over the same period.

During the year the airport serviced 4.88m passengers, up from 4.18m in the prior 12 months.

The airport is 51 per cent owned by Newcastle Airport Local Authority while the remaining 49 per cent is held by AMP Capital.

Newcastle eyeing further growth

A statement signed off by the board said: “Passenger traffic in 2023 continued the strong recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic, and by the end of the year passenger levels were approaching pre-pandemic levels.

“Good performance was seen across the airline portfolio and two new airlines, Aegean and Sunexpress, were added during the year.”

On its future, Newcastle International Airport added: “Further growth in passengers is expected in 2024 supported by additional capacity, notably in the holiday segment with TUI basing an additional aircraft in the summer season.

“This growth will come despite aircraft availability challenges across the aviation industry.

“The business will also work closely with its airline partners to stimulate further growth in the low cost and scheduled segments.”

Passengers success for Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Elsewhere, new figures also revealed that passenger numbers grew by 15 per cent at Liverpool John Lennon Airport during its latest financial year.

The hub welcomed 4.3m customers in the year to 31 March, 2024, 10 per cent under its pre-pandemic passenger numbers.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport added that its rising passenger numbers helped it increase its revenue by 14 per cent to £44.4m during the same period.

John Irving, chief executive at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said: “We have continued to make significant improvements at Liverpool John Lennon Airport as we look to return to pre-covid passenger numbers.

“Everyone who works at the airport is dedicated to providing our faster, friendlier, easier experience for all of our customers.

“We are actively exploring how we can better accommodate increasing passenger footfall while maintaining our high standards for customer service.

“We are also investing heavily in projects which will enable us to enhance the airport, maintain our compliance with the latest regulations and support our carbon reduction initiatives.”