| Leeds Bradford International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds Bradford Airport Entrance | |||
| IATA: LBA – ICAO: EGNM | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Bridgepoint Capital | ||
| Operator | Leeds Bradford International Airport Limited | ||
| Serves | West and North Yorkshire | ||
| Location | Yeadon, West Yorkshire, England | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 681 ft / 208 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
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EGNM
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 14/32 | 2,250 | 7,382 | Concrete |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Passengers | 2,755,110 | ||
| Passenger change 09-10 | 7.0% | ||
| Aircraft Movements | 52,284 | ||
| Movements change 09-10 | 2.8% | ||
| Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2] |
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Leeds Bradford International Airport (IATA: LBA, ICAO: EGNM) is located at Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) northwest of Leeds city centre itself.[1] It was opened in October 1931 as Yeadon Aerodrome,[3] It serves the cities of Leeds and Bradford, as well as the wider Yorkshire region including the cities of York and Wakefield, and is the largest airport within Yorkshire. The airport was in public ownership until May 2007, when it was sold for £145.5 million to Bridgepoint Capital.[4]
Leeds Bradford has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P800) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flight training. The airport is also the highest in England at an elevation of 681 ft (208 m).[5] By the number of passengers handled in 2010, Leeds Bradford was the 16th busiest airport in the UK.
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The airport was opened as the "Leeds and Bradford Municipal Aerodrome" (Yeadon Aerodrome) on 17 October 1931 and was operated by the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club on behalf of Leeds and Bradford Corporations. In 1935 the aerodrome was expanded by 35 acres (140,000 m2) and scheduled flights began on 8 April 1935 with a service by North Eastern Airways from London (Heston Aerodrome) to Newcastle upon Tyne (Cramlington). The service was soon extended to Edinburgh (Turnhouse). In June 1935 Blackpool and West Coast Air Services started a service to the Isle of Man. By 1936 the London/Yeadon/Newcastle/Edinburgh service was flying three times a week and also stopped at Doncaster and carried on to Aberdeen (Dyce).
In 1936, No.609 (West Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), Royal Air Force (RAF) formed at Yeadon, and seasonal flights between Yeadon and Liverpool commenced. Work also began on a terminal building, but progress was halted after only one section had been completed.
Civil aviation at Yeadon was halted in 1939, with the outbreak of World War II. Avro built a new shadow factory, to produce military aircraft, just to the north of the aerodrome; a taxiway connected the factory to the aerodrome and many of the aircraft first flew from Yeadon. The aircraft manufactured included the Bristol Blenheim (250), the Lancaster bomber (695), the Anson (over 4,500), the York (45) and the Lincoln (25).
Significant developments were made to the aerodrome; the addition of two runways, taxiways and extra hangarage led to Yeadon becoming an important site for military aircraft testing.
Civil flights recommenced at the airport in 1947, after Geoff Rennard fought for Leeds and Bradford to have an aerodrome, and eventually gained permission for an Aero Club. He was then appointed Airport Manager and stayed at the post for 5 years. Subsequently Yeadon Aviation Ltd was formed in 1953 to run the Airport and Aero Club. Two years later in 1955 flights to Belfast, Jersey, Ostend, Southend, the Isle of Wight and Düsseldorf were added to Yeadon's destination list.
Although during this period of time, Yeadon still had military activity from 1946-1960.
Scheduled flights to London began in 1960, and Dublin was added shortly after. A new runway was opened in 1965, and in that year the terminal building was destroyed by a fire, with a replacement terminal opened by 1968.
By the mid 1970s the package holiday had become popular in the UK and in 1976 the first holiday charter flight to the Iberian Peninsula departed Leeds Bradford.
In 1978, it was decided that, with runway extensions, the airport could be upgraded to regional airport status. Work began in 1982, and was completed in November 1984. This included a significant extension to the main runway, including the construction of a tunnel to take the A658 Bradford to Harrogate road beneath the runway. The airport also underwent significant extensions and redevelopments to the Terminal building, the first phase of which was opened in 1985.
On 4 November 1984, the day the runway extension was officially opened, Wardair commenced transatlantic flights from Leeds Bradford to Toronto, using Boeing 747s, though these flights were later discontinued.
In August 1986, an Air France Concorde charter flight from Paris landed at Leeds Bradford for the first time, and an estimated 60,000 people were there to see it. Occasional Concorde charter flights, all of which used British Airways aircraft, continued until June 2000, just one month before the Concorde disaster in Paris.
Initially the airport had restricted operating hours, and this deterred many charter airlines, whose cheap fares depended on 'round-the-clock' use of their aircraft. In 1994, these restrictions were removed and flights could use the airport 24 hours a day,[6] so more airlines were attracted to Leeds Bradford.
Work on the airport terminal has been ongoing since 1996, and the result of this has been significant growth in terminal size and passenger facilities. In 2007 nearly 2.9 million passengers passed through the airport, an 88% increase in just seven years and more than twice as many compared with 1997 (1.2 million). Much of the growth in passenger numbers since 2003 has been due to the introduction of scheduled flights by the based low-cost airline Jet2.com.
Since 2000 the airport has been home to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
On 18 June 2005 scheduled flights to Lahore via Stockholm-Skavsta were introduced by Swe Fly operating a Boeing 767-200 however the service ceased on 2nd September 2005 due to lack of funds. In 2008 Shaheen Air International introduced of scheduled flights to Islamabad. This service was introduced in February but ceased after only four months due to a shortage of aircraft.[7] The route was reinstated by Pakistan International Airlines in July 2008,[8][9] this too however was due to be suspended from June 2011 but it has been decided to continue the twice weekly service with an Airbus A310 aircraft, with the intention to introduce a Boeing 777 for the summer schedule in April 2012.[10]
The original runway (09/27) was closed on 6 October 2005, to be redeveloped as a taxiway and to provide additional apron space.
In 2006 Isle of Man based airline Manx2 re-opened the airport's oldest air route, to the Isle of Man.[11]
In November 2008 the early stages of the airport masterplan were clarified, with in-depth detailed plans for the expansion of the airport terminal being published, at an estimated cost of £28 million.
The airport lost its direct link with London in March 2009 when BMI ceased its route to London Heathrow. Flybe revived the link with a route to London Gatwick on 29 June 2009, but it only lasted until 31 March 2011, meaning the airport is without an air link to London for the second time in two years.[12]
On 11 August 2009 Ryanair announced it would set up a new base at Leeds Bradford, initially basing two aircraft at the airport offering 17 routes from March 2010. Ryanair also said they would be interested in starting flights to Eastern Europe in the near future.[13]
On 16 June 2011, Ryanair announced that they would start two new routes to Eastern Europe, meeting the pledge they made two years previously. The first route, Riga in Latvia is to commence from 2 November 2011 as is Kaunas, Lithuania.[14]
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In line with government recommendations, Leeds Bradford Airport published a masterplan. However since then the airport has been privatised and the new plans of Bridgepoint Capital deviate in areas from the masterplan. The plans that Bridgepoint Capital published were approved by Leeds City Council in July 2009, despite much criticism from protesters. The plans were originally rejected by Leeds City Council on the grounds of further traffic generated from an enlarged airport. The revised plans included the provision of further bus services, however no commitment was made to invest in a rail or light rail link, although the plan continues to be considered. Incidentally, neither the previously proposed Leeds Supertram or the currently proposed Leeds Trolleybus go to Leeds Bradford International Airport, although each would have a terminus a few miles away at Bodington Hall, Lawnswood.
In 2004 the airport published a master plan in line with government recommendations. The master plan set out the following proposals for future development:[15][16][17]
The master plan sets out the stages of development for Leeds Bradford Airport over the next 10 years and outlines general proposals for the period from 2016 to 2030. It is estimated that by 2016 the airport will handle in excess of 5.1 million passengers per year as well as seeing a significant increase in freight traffic. Both Flybe and Ryanair have expressed an interest in expanding their routes at the airport, with Ryanair announcing intentions to base aircraft there.[18] By 2010 Ryanair had made good this pledge and had Boeing 737-800 aircraft based at the airport operating new routes.
Bridgepoint Capital and Leeds City Council hope that by redeveloping the airport, it will attract even more companies, jobs and people to the area which already has a population of 2.9 million.[15]
On 5 November 2008, Bridgepoint Capital announced their £28 million plans to redevelop the airport terminal.[19] Planning permission was submitted to Leeds City Council in late November 2008. The plans involve building in front of the current terminal building, effectively turning the current crescent-shaped building into a semicircle. As the current terminal buildings are the product of 40 years of extensions, there is no continuity to the layout and the buildings can become very congested. The extension would be set over two stories and would facilitate new departure and arrival facilities. The ground floor will house new check-in halls, while on the first floor there will be a large departure lounge, featuring a glass roof.[20] Both arrival and departure facilities will benefit from new retail facilities as the management claimed that current facilities were 'inadequate and unenticing'. It is estimated that with the completion of the airport extension and the forecast new flights, an extra 2,000 jobs will be generated at the airport.[21]
Since 2008 the redevelopment plans have remained largely unchanged, however the proposed external appearance of the building has changed, being clad in black instead of the while cladding that had initially been proposed.[22]
Leeds and Bradford councils jointly bought the airport site at Yeadon in 1930,[23] which opened as Yeadon Aerodrome in 1931.
The airport became a limited company in 1987, and was shared between the five surrounding boroughs of Leeds (40%), Bradford (40%) and Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees (together sharing the remaining 20%).
In October 2006 plans to privatise the airport were confirmed when Bradford Council became the last of the five controlling councils to agree to sell off the airport to the private sector.
On 4 April 2007 the five controlling councils announced that Bridgepoint Capital had been selected as the preferred bidder.[24] On May 3, 2007 Bridgepoint was confirmed as the buyer.[25]
On 4 May 2007 Bridgepoint Capital acquired the airport from Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees councils for £145.5 million. Although Bridgepoint Capital own the airport 100% financially, the councils hold a "special share" in the airport, to protect its name and continued operation as an air transport gateway for the Yorkshire region. The new owners said they were to implement a £70 million capital expenditure plan, to focus on improving passenger and retail infrastructure in order to increase passenger capacity to 7 million per annum by 2015.[4]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Europa | Seasonal: Palma de Mallorca [begins 3 May 2012] |
| BH Air | Seasonal: Burgas |
| BMI operated by BMI Regional |
Brussels, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International |
| Eastern Airways | Aberdeen, Bristol |
| EasyJet | Seasonal: Geneva |
| Flybe | Aberdeen, Belfast-City, Exeter, Southampton Charter: Innsbruck |
| Jet2.com | Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest [begins 26 March 2012], Belfast-International, Düsseldorf, Faro, Geneva, Lanzarote, Madeira, Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paphos, Prague, Rome Fiumicino, La Rochelle, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Bergerac, Berlin-Brandenburg [begins 1 June 2012], Bodrum, Chambéry, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Heraklion-Crete, Ibiza, Jeddah, Jersey, Larnaca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria [begins 28 May 2012], Milan-Orio al Serio, Menorca, Nice, Olbia, Pisa, Rhodes, Salzburg, Toulouse, Venice Marco Polo |
| KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper |
Amsterdam |
| Manx2 | Isle of Man |
| Pakistan International Airlines | Islamabad |
| Ryanair | Alicante, Barcelona, Dublin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gdansk, Kaunas, Krakow, Lanzarote, Málaga, Malta, Riga, Venice-Treviso, Weeze Seasonal: Chania [begins 31 March 2012], Corfu [begins 29 March 2012], Dinard [begins 27 March 2012], Ibiza, Kos [begins 28 March 2012], Limoges, Milan Bergamo [begins 26 March 2012], Montpellier, Murcia, Nantes, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Tenerife South [26 March 2012] |
| Thomas Cook Airlines | Bodrum, Enfidha-Tunisia [begins 19 February], Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Antalya, Dalaman, Heraklion [begins 8 May 2012], Ibiza, Larnaca, Minorca, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Zakynthos |
| Thomson Airways | Tenerife-South Seasonal: Corfu, Palma de Mallorca |
Jet2.com's head office is located in the Low Fare Finder House,[26] a building on the grounds of Leeds Bradford Airport. As of 2006 the facility was under construction, meant to accommodate pilots, cabin crew, and "behind the scenes" employees.[27] Jet2.com's parent company, Dart Group, has its head office in the same building.[28]
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| Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | % Change 2009 / 10 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amsterdam | 223,470 | 2 | |
| 2 | Málaga | 194,178 | 34 | |
| 3 | Alicante | 188,143 | 0 | |
| 4 | Dublin | 175,254 | 6 | |
| 5 | Palma de Mallorca | 164,426 | 14 | |
| 6 | Faro | 115,093 | 36 | |
| 7 | Murcia | 104,508 | 38 | |
| 8 | Belfast International | 82,469 | 6 | |
| 9 | Paris Charles de Gaulle | 73,359 | 18 | |
| 10 | Belfast City | 71,791 | 8 | |
| 11 | Southampton | 70,357 | 12 | |
| 12 | Tenerife South | 69,554 | 13 | |
| 13 | Ibiza | 61,456 | 13 | |
| 14 | Barcelona | 53,087 | 11 | |
| 15 | Dusseldorf | 52,568 | 0 | |
| 16 | London Gatwick | 50,617 | 66 | |
| 17 | Prague | 46,036 | 1 | |
| 18 | Girona | 45,989 | 15 | |
| 19 | Lanzarote | 43,779 | 18 | |
| 20 | Krakow | 38,162 | 38 | |
| Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority [2] | ||||
The airport has connections to the local road network and is signposted on a large number of routes in the region. However, the airport is fairly unique in the UK, if not worldwide, for charging a "parking fee" (minimum £2.00) for cars that are only momentarily dropping off and picking up passengers at the terminal. [30]Bus services that link the airport include services 737 and 747 to Bradford operated by Centrebus. Centrebus also operate service 757 to Leeds, While Harrogate is connected by the 767 service operated by Dales and District Buses. Other local surrounding areas which include, Pool, Otley and Yeadon are connected by service 967 which is operated by TLC Travel. A service is planned to be restarted to York in the near future. Services to Bradford and Leeds link the airport with the National Rail network via Bradford Interchange, Bradford Forster Square and Leeds railway station and connects with long distance coach services at Bradford Interchange and Leeds City bus station.
As part of both the airport and Metro's long-term strategies, there are proposals for the construction of a direct rail link to the airport on a branch from the Harrogate Line, however no firm commitments or timescales have been announced.[15]
The two nearest railway stations are Guiseley and Horsforth. There is a direct link by the 737 Bradford - Airport bus from the airport to Guiseley, and there is service 757 from Leeds - Airport which provides a service between the Airport and New Road side in Horsforth where further changes can be made with service(s) 31, 32 to connect with Horsforth Rail station on a Monday to Saturday daytime.
The airport is home to Multiflight, a flight training and aircraft engineering organisation. They are also the dedicated FBO at the airfield and provide helicopter and fixed wing charter flights as well as aircraft sales and management. General Aviation operations are confined to the south-side of the airport, in order to maintain separation from commercial traffic utilising the main terminal.
In addition to numerous privately owned aircraft hangared on the south-side, a fleet of around 13 training aircraft are based at the airport.
During 2005 two new hangars capable of housing 4 x B737-800's were constructed, as well as a new apron and direct taxiway to the runway. A dedicated southside fuel farm was also installed. In the past decade, over £10m has been invested into infrastructure on the South Side by Multiflight.
Prior to 1985, there were two recorded incidents of runway overruns at Leeds Bradford Airport, both involving British Midland Airways Viscount aircraft, and both showing evidence of hydroplaning.[31]
On 27 May 1985, a Lockheed Tristar operated by British Airtours, registration G-BBAI, overran the runway surface on landing from Palma after a rain shower. The aircraft was evacuated, with only minor injuries sustained by the 14 crew and 398 passengers. The nose landing gear strut folded backwards during the overrun, leading to severe damage to the underside of the forward fuselage. The undersides of both wing-mounted engines were flattened and both engines suffered ingestion damage. The main wheels of the aircraft also dug deep troughs in the area beyond the end of the runway, damaging the buried airfield lighting cables. The accident report concluded that the overrun was caused by the inability of the aircraft to achieve the appropriate level of braking effectiveness and recommended that both the scheduled wet runway performance of the TriStar and the condition of the surface of runway 14 at Leeds Bradford Airport should be re-examined.[31][32]
On 24 May 1995, an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft, registration G-OEAA operated by Knight Air on a flight between Leeds Bradford and Aberdeen (see Knight Air Flight 816) entered a steeply descending spiral dive, broke up in flight and crashed into farmland at Dunkeswick Moor near Leeds. All 12 occupants were killed. The probable cause of the accident was the failure of one or both artificial horizon instruments. There was no standby artificial horizon installed (as there was no airworthiness requirement for one on this aircraft) and the accident report concluded that this left the crew without a single instrument available for assured attitude reference or simple means of determining which flight instruments had failed. The aircraft entered a spiral dive from which the pilot, who was likely to have become spatially disoriented, was unable to recover.[33][34]
On 18 May 2005, a Jordanian Airbus A320, registration JY-JAR operating for Spanish charter airline LTE suffered a braking malfunction on landing at Leeds Bradford Airport following a flight from Fuerteventura. The aircraft touched down on runway 14 just beyond the touchdown zone, approximately 400 m (1,300 ft) beyond the aiming point. The pilots determined that the rate of deceleration was inadequate and applied full reverse thrust and full manual braking in an effort to stop the aircraft, however the normal braking system malfunctioned and the Captain turned the aircraft onto a level grassed area to the right of the runway where it came to rest. There were no injuries to the passengers or crew, however the Air Accidents Investigation Branch made seven safety recommendations in the final accident report.[35][36]
{Aircraft in British Military Service: British Service Aircraft Since 1946} (ISBN 1 85310 891 X), Airlife Publishing, First Published-1998
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