Liverpool John Lennon airport has recorded a 3% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers for the first half of the year.

Newly-released figures show more than 2.4 million passengers used the airport from January to June, 2018, an increase of 70,000 passengers on the same period the previous year.

The figure is also the highest for that period since 2011 and means in the last year Liverpool airport’s passenger numbers have exceeded 5 million for the first time in seven years.

The growth in passenger numbers have been driven by a number of factors, including new services to Majorca and Malaga with Blue Air, Champions League Final flights to Kiev and higher passenger loads on existing routes.

The growth is also predicted to continue for the rest of the year with flights to destinations like Pula, Dalaman and Palermo all set to be introduced soon

Liverpool airport director of aviation development Paul Winfield said: The recent completion of the latest terminal improvements gives our growing numbers of passengers an even better customer experience and as we build up to the busiest time of the year with the start of the school summer holidays just a few weeks away, we expect to see further growth in passenger numbers during the second half of the year.”