Leeds Bradford fastest growing airport in UK

The Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBIA) is setting records with passenger numbers recently, despite the economic downturn that has driven down the statistics of so many other airports.

LBIA reported its busiest month on record in August, with 345,000 using the facility, an increase of five per cent from the same month last year.

Over the busy summer season, the number of passengers on flights from the north-central England facility rose significantly, to 1,277,752 passengers during the months of May through August.

These latest figures mean that Leeds Bradford has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing airports. It is clearly growing at a more rapid rate than other regional airports in the north, as Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport and Manchester and Newcastle airports are all seeing numbers decline.

In 2007, LBIA was acquired by the Bridgepoint, a European private equity firm, from the local authority owners, for £145.5 million.

Since the change of ownership, around 30 new flights have been added and an infrastructure and facilities improvement plan, in the amount of £70 million has been announced.

The strongest demand at LBIA is on the jet2.com twice-daily service to Malaga and the Ryanair service to Dublin. More than 20,000 passengers were carried on the two routes.

www.lbia.co.uk