Ryanair-Leeds Bradford in line for more growth

While numbers fall across industry, Leeds Bradford in line for more growth

Business at Leeds Bradford International Airport is flying in the face of an industry slump, which has seen airline travel fall for the past three years.

Chief executive John Parkin said while an ‘unprecedented’ decline in passenger numbers was the worst since the Second World War, LBIA was on track for further growth.

Passenger numbers, currently totalling three million annually, have been boosted by the airport’s partnership with Ryanair, which launched its only new UK base at LBIA last year and has two aircraft based there, each operating four daily flights.

Mr Parkin said: “Ryanair’s decision to open a new base at LBIA has played a substantial part in ensuring our growth continues, in spite of an overall ongoing fall-off in demand for air travel.

“The airline not only carries passengers out from Yorkshire to European destinations but, importantly, also brings visitors in.

“Being able to offer pan-European services is very important and helps us attract new business, We also remain the fastest growing UK regional airport, while some others are standing still or even falling back.”

Speaking at a briefing for tourism representatives from the Leeds City Region, including Bradford, Mr Parkin said LBIA was set to unveil a four per cent growth in business for the past year against a ten per cent drop for airports generally.

He described the airport as an ‘employment engine room’, with 3,0000 jobs supported either directly or indirectly by LBIA’s operations.

It generated £85.5m for the region’s economy, which was set to double, and for every one million extra passengers carried, around 1,000 jobs were created or supported.

Ken O’Toole, Ryanair’s director of route development, said the airline was carrying around 850,000 passengers a year from Leeds Bradford and its decision to open a base there had been justified.