Flights to the United States of America and Middle East could be operating from Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) within three years, the company’s chief executive has said.
LBA wants to further develop long haul flights as part of its newly-updated Vision 2030 strategy – but the move has been criticised by environmental campaigners.
Airport bosses say the plans will create up to 5,500 new jobs and contribute a total of nearly £1 billion to the local economy as the airport reaches an anticipated seven million passengers a year by 2030.
LBS’s chief executive, Vincent Hodder, said destinations being pursued included New York, Boston and Chicago in the US and Jeddah, Oman and Dubai in the Middle East and that he would be ‘disappointed’ if the first continental flights weren’t departing the airport by 2027.
Mr Hodder said the strategy ‘marked a new era of travel’ for the region. He added: “This transformative strategy will play a vital role in facilitating trade links for local businesses, creating thousands of new jobs, and attracting international investment to Yorkshire.
“Our commitment is bold and ambitious, but we are firm in our stance to build a net-zero carbon future for the airport. With this comprehensive plan in place, we are confident that LBA can continue to play a significant role in improving international connectivity for the region and supporting local economic growth for many years to come.”
The proposed expansion plans will be funded by £200m of private investment and include increasing terminal floorspace by 38% and 10 new aircraft stands.
Looking beyond 2030, LBA still has ambitions for a new purpose-built replacement terminal, after withdrawing £150 million proposals due to ‘excessive delays’ following a decision to call in plans by the Government two years ago.
LBA also wants to build a new hotel within walking distance of the airport and examine the potential growth of specialist air freight.
Environmentalists’ reaction
The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) condemned the airport’s ‘Vision 2030’ strategy as ‘deeply irresponsible’ – and will oppose any future planning applications at the airport.
The campaigners say the move would cause a huge rise in greenhouse gas emissions and cause more noise and air pollution, damaging the health of people living under the flight path.
Nick Hodgkinson, Chair of GALBA, said: “LBA’s expansion announcement comes less than a month after the expert Climate Change Committee restated its advice to the government to ‘stop airport expansion without a UK-wide capacity management framework’.
“The reason we need to manage capacity is simple: more flying means more greenhouse gas emissions but we know we must radically cut those emissions as fast as possible.
“At present, the only reliable way to do that is to limit flying by limiting the capacity of airports.
“One day, there may be clean fuels, used at large scale for all flight distances which are proven to reduce the greenhouse gases caused by flying. But currently, those fuels only exist at a small scale – some are barely off the drawing board. Right now, the only way to control greenhouse gases from flying is not to fly more planes.”
Ian Coatman, Secretary of GALBA, added: “LBA will have to make a new planning application to Leeds City Council to expand beyond five million passengers a year.
“When that happens, GALBA will be ready and we will vigorously oppose expansion.
“We hope that Leeds City Council will make a responsible decision and reject the planning application – for the sake of our children and the health of local residents.”
The airport’s move comes less than a month after the national Climate Change Committee advised the government not to allow airport expansions.
Leeds Green Party has also urged Leeds City Council to remember that it has called a ‘climate emergency’ and that it has to make meaningful efforts to ensure that it not just a passing political slogan.
Councillor Ed Carlisle (Green, Hunslet & Riverside) warned the council should not agree to increase emissions under pressure from commercial interests. He added: “The council has yet to understand that climate change is a very inconvenient truth, and that by ignoring that truth it will, in the longer term, massively increase the inconvenience.”
Mayor’s reaction
The airport’s strategy has been broadly welcomed West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, who said: “It clearly states how the airport will improve Yorkshire’s connection to the rest of the world.
“This substantial private investment will benefit local communities and the wider Yorkshire region, serving as a catalyst for considerable, long-term economic growth. The airport’s plans promise to create a range of skilled jobs and bolster connectivity among key international markets, creating new opportunities for Yorkshire business overseas.
“The commitment to net zero carbon emissions for the airport’s ground operations is a great first step. Industry-wide, there’s much still to do to decarbonise aviation as a whole, and I look forward to seeing how Leeds Bradford can contribute to that.”
The full LBA Vision 2030 strategy can be viewed in a virtual exhibition available here.
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Climate change is having big consequences for a lot of things in our lives, such as the type of cars we can buy, the energy we use and its cost, where we can drive, etc. But at the same time there seems to be few consequences for the aviation industry and the large contribution it makes to worldwide emissions? Do people really need to travel the world so much for business purposes anyway nowadays, what with the major advances in computers and communication?
Exactly. The aviation industry has been exempt from all the effort and sacrifices people are trying to make worldwide to stop the biosphere deteriorating any more. It’s about time they moved inline with everyone trying to protect an integrated biosphere. Human greed and healthy human communities are mutually exclusive.
I don’t know about long haul flights but let’s have a Heathrow service back. I’m tired of having to travel to Manchester or get the National express for my flights. It’s incredible we don’t have one anymore for such a very popular airport in the country’s biggest county.