Leeds Bradford Airport bids to shed 'ugly duckling' image with £100m terminal expansion

Chief executive Vincent Hodder told The Yorkshire Post that the work on the often-criticised airport is much-needed.

"Ugly duckling is a nice way of putting it because it includes that connotation of being able to grow into a beautiful swan and fundamentally that is what this is about,” he said.

"This has been an under-invested airport for a long time. Our existing shareholders InfraBridge who bought the airport in 2017 did so with a clear vision that they wanted to invest, they wanted to deliver for Leeds, Bradford and Yorkshire the airport that our customers deserve.

"It is ensuring the gateway to Yorkshire is a gateway we can be proud of in future instead of one which at the moment causes us a little bit of embarrassment.”

An initial application to improve the LBA site was first submitted in 2009 and last year £150m plans for an entirely new terminal were scrapped following years of wrangling. That led airport bosses to return to a previously approved 2019 plan to extend the terminal building, which will now form the basis of this work.

Mr Hodder said that airport officials have evolved the 2019 plan to include a major refurbishment of the existing building.

"Necessity being the mother of creation forced us to go back and really look at what could be accomplished. We realised what we could do is truly outstanding. At a much lower price, we’re able to deliver fundamentally all of the benefits we would have had from the new terminal.”

LBA claim the regeneration work has the potential to create 1,500 new jobs at the airport, as well as supporting 4,000 other jobs in the local economy.

The airport said the work will also contribute to decarbonisation efforts as a result of the installation of new heating, lighting and machinery, including new baggage belts.

In addition to contributing to the airport’s efforts to reach net zero by 2030, Mr Hodder said it will also help facilitate ambitions to serve seven million passengers a year – up from the current four million a year.

He said it is likely to mean more flights in and out of the airport but also expects some of the increase to come from larger aircraft being used at LBA.

LBA is currently seeking changes to rules governing night-time flight numbers after being found to have breached permitted numbers last summer.

Chris Foren, chair of The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), which is opposing changes to the night-time flight rules, said the organisation has no opposition to terminal upgrades that reduce carbon emissions but noted the building itself is only responsible for around two per cent of emissions relating to the airport.

“Flights cause the overwhelming majority of LBA’s climate damaging greenhouse gas emissions.

“GALBA will continue to oppose any plans to increase the number of flights from LBA because of the extremely negative impact this would have on the climate, noise levels and air pollution.”

Construction work on the expansion will begin in earnest early next year and Mr Hodder said the nature of the work means disruption to passengers during the building process should be minimal.

"In the first phase we are constructing a new building in what is currently a car park. That won’t interfere with the operation of the airport in any way,” he said.

"In the second phase, which is about the refurbishment of the existing terminal building, no area will be closed off until the new area replacing it has already opened. From Day One, the airport will never have less amenity and service than what it has today.

"At every stage, it only gets better, it never gets worse.”