Passengers numbers soar at Leeds Bradford

It has become the fastest growing top 15 airport in the UK according to Civil Aviation Authority research published byt he airport.

Leeds Bradford grew passengers by 11 per cent year-on-year for the month of July, up to 352,175 people.

It comes during a strong year for the airport, during which Ryanair opened there in March with two aircraft and the launch of 21 routes.

Jet2, which is based at the airport, has also expanded its routes with services to Bergerac, Corfu and Tunisia. New destinations for 2011 include Madeira and Bodrum and New York will also be reintroduced for Winter 10.

The airport also said there had been strong demand for its domestic schedule, including Flybe services to Southampton, Belfast City, Exeter, Aberdeen and London Gatwick.

Tony Hallwood, commercial and aviation development director, said: "LBA is very pleased to be one of the UK's fastest growing airports and bucking the national trend.

"Our growth to 76 destinations in 2010 and continued expansion by our airline partners means that we can look forward to 2011 with confidence."

Work is due to begin on a 28m expansion and improvement of its outdated terminal next spring.