DALLAS — Flights to the Middle East and the United States could be possible by 2027, according to Vincent Hodder, chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), the UK’s 13th busiest airport. The plan is backed by $255 million (£250 million) and is part of the airport’s recently updated 2030 vision.
Passenger numbers are expected to rise from just over four million in 2023 to seven million by 2030, requiring an update of the 2030 vision.
The managing director said: “We are already in discussions with airlines from North America and the Middle East about how we can work together to make these things happen over the next two to three years,” adding that he would be “disappointed” if LBA did not offer flights between Leeds and the Middle East and the United States by 2027.
In conversation with the BBCMr Hodder said Leeds Bradford could see new destinations such as Jeddah, Oman and Dubai in the Middle East, and Chicago, New York and Boston in the US.
Leeds Bradford Airport said the new plan would create 5,500 new direct and indirect jobs and contribute $1.2 billion (£1 billion) to the regional economy.
The plan has faced some opposition, particularly from climate activist groups. They say an increase to seven million passengers a year would dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions. One climate activist group, the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), called the airport’s new expansion plans “deeply irresponsible.”
GALBA chairman Nick Hodgkinson expressed his concerns, saying: “The announcement of the LBA expansion comes less than a month after the Expert Committee on Climate Change reiterated its recommendation to the Government to ‘stop airport expansion without nationwide capacity management’. The reason we need to manage capacity is simple: more flights mean more greenhouse gas emissions, but we know we need to radically reduce those emissions as quickly as possible.”
Mr Hodgkinson added: “At the moment, the only reliable way to achieve this is to restrict air travel by limiting airport capacity. One day, there may be clean fuels that will be used on a large scale for all routes and are proven to reduce greenhouse gases caused by flying. But at the moment, these fuels only exist on a small scale – some are barely out of the planning stage. At the moment, the only way to control greenhouse gases from flying is not to fly more planes.”
