BA ends all its London flights at Leeds Bradford Airport
BRITISH AIRWAYS has confirmed it has terminated all future flights to Leeds Bradford Airport from Heathrow.
A spokesman for the airline confirmed that the route’s suspension was permanent and it was contacting customers to provide options for them.
In a statement, British Airways (BA) said: “We are sorry to suspend our flights to Leeds Bradford
after many years. We regularly evaluate our routes based on where our customers tell us they want to travel.”
The airline added: “We remain committed to connecting businesses, families and friends right across our UK network.”
The announcement will disappoint many business and leisure travellers who used the service to help connect them with global destinations not served directly by the regional airport.
A spokesman for Leeds Bradford Airport said they were disappointed, but hoped to welcome BA back in the future.
It comes as the airport continues to pursue plans for its expansion.
Earlier this year, airport boss Hywel Rees unveiled proposals for a brand new terminal building costing £150m. Covering 34,000 square metres, it will span three floors and completely replace the existing building, which will be knocked down once the new facility is constructed.
Mr Rees wants the new terminal up and running by 2023.
The plan is the most ambitious to be applied to the airport in half a century but Mr Rees is adamant that it is needed if the business is to realise its target of increasing passenger numbers from four million to seven million a year and to serve more long-haul and business-related destinations.
“There is a lot to do between now and then,” he said. “I am under no illusions about that.
“But I didn’t come here to fail. If I go away from here with the airport still operating from this building then I will have failed.
There have been so many false starts with this airport.”
However, environmental activists and local campaigners have joined forces to oppose the plans to increase capacity.
Campaigners say it would allow flight times to increase by an hour-and-a-half each day, impacting on the lives of people living nearby and hamper efforts to cut the city’s carbon footprint.