Divisive plan for airport’s expansion

From: Elizabeth Martin, Leeds.

I HAVE found the articles and subsequent letters regarding the plans for a new terminal building at Leeds Bradford Airport rather bewildering.

As a user of the airport for many years for holidays, the building is not fit for purpose. It is shabby with outside walkways, the escalators and baggage carousels are often out of use.

The airport is very busy and I presume other passengers like myself use it as they live in the Leeds area. I fly with Jet2 as they are a Leeds-based company.

If no money is put into the airport, it will slowly decline. Passengers will drive to Manchester, Doncaster/Sheffield or East Midlands airports as many people still want to fly overseas for holidays and will stop supporting their local airport. Build the new terminal building and upgrade the runways.

From: Susan Rautenberg, Meanwood, Leeds.

I HAVE just added my opposition to the proposed Leeds Bradford Airport expansion plan.

The fact that British Airways is dropping all flights to and from LBA is a concrete example of the reduced demand for air travel that will follow the Covid crisis and the on-going climate crisis.

The Leeds Green Strategy is right and the expansion of the airport would run completely counter to this. Better the airport should re-weight its current flight capacity to meet business needs and reduce the often seven day a week flights to tourist destinations. I am a frequent flier but I am happy to reduce my access for better air quality, noise reduction, traffic reduction. I do not believe that employment or economic arguments outweigh these concerns. Also, I object to Leeds Council only allowing objections until June 15, when we are still on lockdown and there are 1,200 documents attached to this planning application. That’s ridiculous!

From: Chris Liddle, Harrogate.

OVER 100 years ago, as reported in your Nostalgia page recently, the first commercial flight took place from Yeadon Airport to Bradford.

Prior to this, several sites were considered for the new airport, some east of Leeds which the surveyors preferred. Yeadon was chosen against this professional advice and LBA is surely now in the wrong place.

As we have a new airport near Doncaster with a runway long enough for jumbo jets, could this not become the main Yorkshire airport preferably with proper rail connections?