Leeds Bradford Airport: Expansion work underway one year on from scrapped £150m terminal plans

In March 2022, Leeds Bradford Airport chiefs pulled out of its £150m rebuild plans, following the announcement that the Government was planning to hold an inquiry into the plans.

Dubbed the “Route to 2030”, plans were controversially approved by Leeds city council in 2019 despite significant backlash by campaigners, local residents and politicians, worried about its effects on the environment and noise levels.

Now one year on and Leeds Bradford are well underway with work to improve its current terminal including a check-in hall upgrade and “extensive refurbishment” to existing passenger lounges.

In November, airport chiefs announced plans to improve passenger experience and speed up check-in processes by reconfiguring its Hall A, which currently handles the check-in of all non-Jet2 passengers.

The work will see the installation of 14 self-service kiosks and hybrid self-service automated bag drops, as well as four self-service check-in e-gates, all produced by self-service technology experts Elenium. 14 traditional manned check-in desks will also be installed, and the hall will be extensively refurbished.

A spokesperson for LBA, said: “The future is looking positive at LBA, with passenger numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels and the airport hosting the most destinations ever in its history.

"To further improve passenger experience, we have refurbished Check In Hall A, and our lounges are currently undergoing extensive refurbishment. We continue with our plans to create a modern, decarbonised regional UK airport with an upgrade to the existing terminal.”

Ongoing work to reconfigure Hall A is expected to be complete by Easter 2023.