LEEDS-BRADFORD AIRPORT NEWS - 12/08/2009

Ryanair to set up base at Leeds Bradford Airport, launch 14 new routes

Budget carrier Ryanair will bring a million extra passengers to Leeds Bradford Airport in 2010.

In a plan that will see the airline employ 1,000 new workers at the Yorkshire travel hub, Ryanair will open a new base next March in line with a recently-approved £28 million expansion of the terminal building.

The travel firm expects to offer 14 new routes and 63 weekly return flights from Leeds Bradford Airport in a move worth around £84 million.

Leeds Bradford Airport chief executive John Parkin told the Yorkshire Post: "This is a great vote of confidence in the potential of both the airport and our region from Europe's largest airline.

"Today's announcement makes us an exception in the sector and will help create much-needed jobs."

Local councillor Andrew Carter added that the move will be "a big boost to the local economy".

The new routes will link the Yorkshire airport with Carcassonne, Limoges, Montpellier, Nantes, Malaga, Murcia, Pisa, Venice Treviso, Faro, Ibiza, Knock, Krakow, Malta and Palma.

In related news, easyJet recently announced plans to launch a new six-times-weekly flight from London Luton Airport to Tel Aviv in Israel on November 2nd.

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