Airport is modernising not expanding

LEEDS BRADFORD Airport needs to modernise. The existing terminal building was built in 1965 and it really hasn’t changed much since. It’s 55 years old and struggles to provide the level of customer service that passengers and airlines expect.

LBA’s planning application is not about expansion. LBA is not expanding because we are not proposing to grow beyond the airport’s existing consented capacity limit of seven million passengers. Our present limit is already 7m passengers and LBA is not proposing to increase that limit.

LBA needs to modernise and the only way to do that is to build a new, modern terminal with efficient facilities. The new building will be smaller than the old one because it will make a more efficient use of space. That’s possible because the industry has learned a lot about airport design since 1965.

The proposed new building will be an iconic focal point for Yorkshire. There has been lots of feedback from the public on LBA’s plans and it’s important that these concerns are addressed.

On noise, it’s surprising that, at the moment, there is absolutely no limit whatsoever on the number of night flights at LBA involving modern aircraft such as the 737 max and the

A320neo family. This is because, like LBA’s terminal building, the night-time restrictions at LBA are out of date.

When the current restrictions were drafted in the mid-1990s, no-one expected modern aircraft to be as quiet as they are today, so the current restriction becomes less relevant as more modern aircraft are introduced. That’s not what was intended at the time, of course, so LBA is proposing a new, modern system of quotas to bring LBA into line with other airports in the UK.

On the environment, LBA’s plans mean that the new terminal building will be rated BREEAM “Excellent”, meaning it will be the most environmentally friendly terminal building in the UK. We see this as an integral part of our commitment to operate a carbon net zero airport by 2023.

Of course, most carbon in aviation is emitted by aircraft, not airports.

In the past, the aviation industry has not been very good at publicising the enormous improvements that have already been made to aircraft efficiency over the years. Yet, modern aircraft are about 80 per cent more fuel efficient and 90 per cent quieter than they were in the 1950s.

That trend is going to continue because cleaner aircraft are obviously sustainable in the long term, but also cheaper to run, providing airlines with a natural incentive to introduce them. As sustainably sourced synthetic fuels are developed and as electrification becomes more viable, aircraft will become cleaner and quieter than ever.

Tackling climate change is an international challenge. Restricting flights at LBA will only mean that the people of Yorkshire will have to travel further to catch flights, typically by road.

As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, LBA’s plans offer Yorkshire the opportunity to help kick-start its economy, helping the construction and tourism sectors to recover in the short term and, in the longer term, creating the high value, knowledge-based jobs that Yorkshire needs.

LBA also supports the construction of a new railway station, less than a mile from the airport. It will enable direct trains to and from King’s Cross Station in London on the Azuma service that operates three times a day on the Leeds to Harrogate line. No other airport outside London would have a mainline service of that quality on its doorstep.

Our plans include proposals for a liveried coach service from the biggest local railway stations, improved bus services, better cycling facilities and incentives to encourage more use of public transport.

LBA’s plans are fundamentally different from the plans submitted recently by other UK airports. This is for two reasons. First, LBA is not proposing any increase in passenger numbers beyond its existing consented capacity. Second, LBA is replacing existing infrastructure; the old terminal building will be demolished when the new one opens.

All the other planning applications across UK airports either involved an increase in consented capacity or infrastructure or both. LBA needs to modernise. LBA’s plans are a sensible but exciting response to that challenge.