Leeds Bradford airport (LBA) has withdrawn its application for a replacement terminal, and will instead focus on developing the extension to its existing terminal.
The airport unveiled plans for a £150 million new terminal in early 2020, which would have seen a three-floor, 34,000 sqm building having been built on an alternative site within the airport’s boundary.
But LBA said that it had made the decision to withdraw the planning application “following excessive delays and the decision to call in plans by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities”.
The airport added that “With large investment in the scheme so far, airport bosses say they are not prepared to commit a further uncapped sum over an indefinite timeframe into a public inquiry process when their focus needs to be on modernising the airport for the future”.
As a result LBA will now revert back to its previous plan of developing the extension to the airport’s existing terminal – plans for which had originally been approved by Leeds City Council in 2019 – with further details set to be unveiled in the coming months.
LBA said that this will “enable it to meet the rapidly increasing passenger demand as the aviation sector recovers from the pandemic”.
Commenting on the decision Vincent Hodder, CEO of Leeds Bradford Airport, said:
“It is with regret that we have made the decision to withdraw LBA’s application for the development of a new replacement terminal.
“As the travel and aviation industry continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, LBA needs to be able to respond to rapidly increasing demand within the next few years.
“I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in the planning process, from the general public to the business community and councils across Yorkshire.
“Whilst this is a setback for our airport and region, we remain committed to investing in LBA to be an outstanding, decarbonised, modern airport for the future.
“My team and I are optimistic about the recovery from the pandemic and about the future of Leeds Bradford Airport”.
