Leeds Bradford Airport says it is worth £737m a year and 9,100 jobs to West Yorkshire, and wants a Parkway rail station to win back flyers lost to Manchester.

Leeds Bradford Airport is worth around £737 million a year to the West Yorkshire economy and supports more than 9,100 jobs, according to a report the airport published today, Monday 2 November, at a launch event in Leeds attended by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin (Leeds Bradford Airport, 2 November 2026).

The report, Driving West Yorkshire’s Economy, is the airport’s case for investment, and above all for the proposed LBA Parkway rail station. The airport describes it as an independent assessment and has published the 50-page document in full (Driving West Yorkshire’s Economy, PDF).

For York readers the most telling number is not the £737 million. It is this: around 9.5 million passenger journeys a year by people from Yorkshire and the Humber start or finish at airports outside the region, and almost half of them, 48%, go through Manchester, the report says. Leeds Bradford itself handled nearly 4.5 million passengers in 2025, its highest annual figure.

Cover of the Leeds Bradford Airport report Driving West Yorkshire's Economy, showing a plane taking off over the airfield
The cover of the airport's report, Driving West Yorkshire's Economy. Photo: supplied by Leeds Bradford Airport

What the report claims

The headline findings, as the airport sets them out:

  • £737 million of economic value a year in West Yorkshire, and more than 9,100 jobs
  • nearly 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with an ambition of around 7 million by the 2030s
  • 9.5 million Yorkshire and Humber passenger journeys made through airports elsewhere, almost half via Manchester
  • business productivity linked to the airport worth an estimated £129 million and around 750 jobs in West Yorkshire
  • tourism linked to the airport supporting about £75 million and 2,840 jobs in West Yorkshire
  • more than £200 million of private investment going into the airport’s facilities

The £737 million is the widest measure in the report. It adds business productivity and inbound tourism to the airport’s own operation and supply chain. On its operation alone, the report puts the West Yorkshire figure at £533 million of gross value added and 5,560 jobs, and the UK figure at £929 million and 10,310 jobs.

Measured the wide way, the report gives the airport’s value as £557 million and 6,590 jobs in Leeds, £737 million and 9,150 jobs in West Yorkshire, £978 million and 12,440 jobs across Yorkshire and the Humber, and £1,245 million and 15,780 jobs across the UK.

Bar chart of Leeds Bradford Airport's total economic value a year by area: Leeds £557m, West Yorkshire £737m, Yorkshire and Humber £978m, UK £1,245m
The airport's total economic value a year, by area, as its report gives it. Chart by The York Times
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

Tourism linked to the airport supports £106 million and almost 4,000 jobs across Yorkshire and the Humber, the report says, in a regional visitor economy it puts at £8.8 billion and 156,000 jobs.

The Parkway station, and where York comes in

The report’s main argument is that the airport cannot reach its potential without a rail link. It calls Leeds City Region “the largest city region in England without a direct airport rail connection”, and says a Parkway station would give inbound visitors “convenient connections to Leeds, Harrogate, York and the wider Yorkshire visitor economy”.

The airport accepts that the scheme is in difficulty. Its release says the project “faces well-documented funding and delivery challenges”, while arguing that “the long-term strategic case for a rail connection to Yorkshire’s largest airport remains compelling”.

Vincent Hodder, the airport’s chief executive, said the airport remained “unequivocally supportive” of the station:

“This report demonstrates that Leeds Bradford Airport is far more than a transport hub. It is a vital piece of economic infrastructure that supports thousands of jobs, connects Yorkshire businesses to global markets and helps attract investment, visitors and talent into our region.

“While we recognise the financial pressures and delivery challenges currently facing major infrastructure projects across the UK, the strategic case for this scheme has never been stronger.

“We strongly support the work being undertaken by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and regional partners to identify a viable route forward, but we must also maintain momentum. The economic benefits of this project are too significant to put on hold. Every year of delay represents a missed opportunity for jobs, investment and growth.”

He said the station could also unlock the North West Leeds Employment Hub: “This is not simply an investment in airport connectivity; it is an investment in one of Yorkshire’s most significant future growth opportunities.”

Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, was more measured on the station. “We are working hard to realise ambitions for a parkway station to serve the airport and will continue working with all partners to find the best solution to improve access,” she said, calling the airport “West Yorkshire’s gateway to the world”.

Phil Ward, chief operations officer at Jet2, which has flown from the airport since 2003, said: “As this report very clearly demonstrates, the airport is a critical economic asset, and its continued success will deliver positive benefits that are felt right across West Yorkshire and the wider region.”

The University of York was among the organisations invited to the launch, alongside the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Leeds and Bradford councils, the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Jet2, KPMG, Leeds Trinity University and the University of Bradford, the airport said.

The night flights application alongside it

The report is published on the same airport website that asks people to back its planning application to Leeds City Council to change its night flight rules, reference 26/04635/FU (Support our application, Leeds Bradford Airport; Leeds City Council planning portal).

The airport wants to replace the cap on the number of night flights, set in 1994, with a cap based on noise, and to shorten its defined night period from 11pm to 7am to 11.30pm to 5.59am. It says the overall night noise limit would not rise and is offering a ten-year noise insulation scheme for the homes nearest the airport, starting with care homes. Comments on the application, for or against, go to the council through its planning portal, the airport says.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes for flights from York yet. There is no date, route or funding for a Parkway station in today’s report; the airport and the mayor both describe it as an ambition still being worked on.
  • Getting there from York is still by road or via Leeds. The report says access to the airport is still “heavily dependent on road-based journeys”; a station is what it argues would change that.
  • You can have your say on night flights. If you fly from Leeds Bradford, or live under its flight path, comments on application 26/04635/FU go through the Leeds City Council planning portal.
  • Read it yourself. The full report is free as a PDF on the airport’s site.

Our earlier coverage: Storm Boelo disruption at the airport and the called-off strikes over half-term.