scfi,
Besides the Mersey not being a holiday destination, the other big difference is that Liverpool doesn’t get hurricanes.
The issue here was not related to the lack of approach lights, but losing sight of the airfield.
My first experience of flying to a Caribbean island was AA into Providenciales. There was a small shower parked over the approach, so the captain announced we would hold for 15 minutes until it had moved on. The WestJet crew should have done the same.