Leeds Bradford Airport plans new £150m terminal building

The scheme could deliver significantly enhanced facilities, said LBA

Plans to demolish Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) terminal and replace it with a new building that could cost up to £150m have been announced.

The plan for the 366,000 sq ft (34,000 sq m) three-storey terminal are set to be submitted in the spring.

The terminal currently deals with about four million passengers annually but the airport hopes to increase numbers to seven million over 10 years.

LBA said the proposal would "support our region's economic growth".

It hopes the building could be open by 2023, the original building would operate throughout construction.

The current terminal was built in 1965, the airport employs about 2,500 people and deals with about four million passengers annually.

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Leeds Bradford Airport is the UK's 15th busiest by passenger numbers, it said.

Hywel Rees, the airport's chief executive, said: "This proposal is not about growing beyond our predicted capacity, it is about meeting the same demand in a more efficient way, with a smaller environmental footprint."

The airport wanted a building "better placed to support our region's economic growth", he added.

Analysis

Spencer Stokes, BBC Look North transport correspondent

It's less than a year since a government minister and council leaders donned hard hats to mark the start of work on a £12m terminal extension at Leeds Bradford Airport.

But within a couple of months those first stages of construction had stopped. The airport's new chief executive Hywell Rees scrutinised the plans and decided that a completely new approach was needed.

He went back to the airport's owners, AMP Capital, and negotiated a £150m investment in a brand new terminal building.

Situated to the east of the current 1960s base, the building is planned to be one of the most environmentally-efficient airport terminals in the country.

It'll also help the airport hit its target of seven million passengers by 2030.

It's 12 years since Leeds Bradford Airport was sold off by Leeds and Bradford councils in the hope that a private company would invest some serious capital.

That is now happening - but at time when questions are being asked about air travel and its environmental impact.

Henri Murison, from the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the plans were "crucial and form a key part of the wider Northern Powerhouse and national aviation strategy."

An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson said: "Despite saying the plans won't result in increased passengers, it seems likely it actually would.

"Often the number of flights do increase when work is undertaken."

The plan is subject to approval but has received backing from Paul Maynard, the minister responsible for aviation.

It is to be privately funded by AMP Capital, LBA's owners, and replaces a scheme that received consent in January 2019.