Leeds Bradford Airport has had its fare share of headlines over the last few years.
The airport, conveniently located halfway between Leeds and Bradford has been undergoing huge changes over the past few years: most notably making news for the promise (and then scrapping) of a new £150 million terminal as part of a bid to 'level up' the north.
This week, Leeds Bradford Airport has received an altogether different headline: it's been ranked joint with Bristol as the worst airport in Britain, according to The Telegraph.
Image: Leeds Bradford Airport
Whilst it might not be the biggest airport with the most exotic destination list, Leeds Bradford Airport was marked harshly for its time into the city centre (35 minutes) and average delay time of 8 minutes.
The airport did score points for offering free unlimited wifi and generous seating areas, but it wasn't enough to compete with the likes of top winner London City airport- who routinely outshine the big four London airports on proximity, delay times and destination list.
The rankings of Britain's best and worst airports were originally reported by The Telegraph, who questioned everything from how aesthetically pleasing each terminal is and accessibility to top destinations through a Twitter poll, and then compared against their own 16-point checklist that covered everything from average delay time to number of hotels nearby.
Now that the people have spoken, we can see there's few fans of Leeds Bradford airport across the UK.
Travel Writer Emma Beaumont gave her two pence on the airport, stating that: "Up in Yorkshire, Leeds Bradford airport was branded “a random hotchpotch of ageing buildings” in the visual category" and noted that there were no four-star hotels within two miles of the terminal and only two hotels at all to offer accommodation to guests needing to get their forty winks before an early morning flight.
The journalist went on to say that "More importantly, it came bottom for cancellations, with 2.28 per cent of all flights axed last year, according to data from the CAA" but did acknowledge that the airport scored "fairly well in the delay rankings and has a generous 1,440 seats available in the terminal if you need somewhere to wait it out."
Terminal One at Leeds Bradford Airport was not thought of highly by pollsters. / Image: Wikicommons
According to The Telegraph's report, it appears that travelling to any other airport, rather than the closest one to Leeds will offer an overall better experience.
This said, the nearest top ranked option would be East Midlands, a 90 minute journey from Leeds. The full list from best to worst is listed below:
Let's see how Leeds Bradford Airport fares next time the poll is revisited. With Flybe returning to the skies with new management promising flights to Europe under £40, there's a chance that the introduction of these added flights may help to sway voters next time round.
The airport is also reported to turn its attention to developing the extension to the existing terminal, originally approved by Leeds City Council in 2019 now that the scrapping of the £150 million terminal has officially been announced.
Feature Image- Leeds Bradford Airport
News
Five of the most exciting new openings coming to Leeds city centre this year
We're basically half way through the year, so let's see what else we've got to look forward to...spoiler alert, it's a lot.
So far we've had everything from ice bath cafes to listening bars open up in Leeds, and it seems like 2026 is the gift that keeps on giving.
Allow us to get you excited about what's coming to the city...
Dishoom
68–78 Vicar Lane, LS1 7JH
Images: The Hoot Leeds
This one is a biggun' as the ever so popular Indian restaurant is set to open on Friday 14 August in a beautiful Grade-II listed building on Vicar Lane which was formerly Flannels.
First opening in London, Dishoom now has restaurants dotted all over the UK including a huge site in Manchester. The group is famed for its lavish and grand interiors, as well as its home-style curries, grills and breakfasts including its legendary bacon naans.
Acai and the Tribe
88 Vicar Lane
Image: The Manc Group
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
This Japanese restaurant serves a menu full of sushi as well as grilled meats on sticks, sharing sides and build-your-own hand rolls. All of this is wrapped up in the most gorgeous interior, which you can see from their jaw dropping new Manchester site.
Occupying the Grade II-listed space on Vicar Lane, the three-storey building will include a 220-cover dining room, 30-cover terrace and an upstairs bar.
Introducing Moods - a new all-day cafe, bar and events venue that will open to the public at First White Cloth Hall on Kirkgate on Friday 31 July.
Created by husband-and-wife founders Will and Hayley Moody, the team behind Buzz Club Tattoo, Moods will occupy the ground floor of the Grade II* listed building.
Alfonso's
Horsforth
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Famed for it’s toasted Cuban sandwiches, stacked subs and loaded breakfast bagels - Alfonsos Deli has made a name for itself for serving some of the best sandwiches around the city.
Such a good reputation in fact, that they’ve just announced a second location over in the leafy suburb of Horsforth. Get in.
Leeds rallies around independent wine bar after thieves smash windows to steal… an empty bottle
Clementine Hall
An independent wine bar in Leeds city centre was broken into over the weekend.
And do you know what the sneaky thief stole? An empty bottle.
Latitude Wine Bar on The Calls issued a statement about the break in over the weekend, they said: "Some unscrupulous ______________ (insert expletives in the comments) decided to smash our window last night to grab a magnum of chartreuse out of our window.
"Obviously it was a dummy bottle, so more fool them, but it also makes this criminal damage more pointless. DON'T THEY KNOW HOW MUCH GLASS COSTS!?
"Well, this puts a real dampener on the month so if any one feels like popping in to buy a bottle in the shop or a glass in the bar or heading online to place an order this weekend it would really help to support an independent wine merchant and bar.
Images: Latitude Wine Bar
"Thank you to one of our customers who found the abandoned dummy bottle and returned it to us today. Legend! Santé and happy Friyay!"
So not only did the thief smash the window to steal an empty bottle, but they didn't even take it home with them.
In classic Leeds fashion, fellow indies flocked to the comments to support Latitude with many promising to pop in over the weekend for a glass or two.
One comment read: "Do you need a sign in your window saying “this is a dummy bottle you dummy”" whilst another said "Damned spit buckets! I’m sure we’ll be in soon, keep your chins up fam."
So if you've been meaning to pop in for a glass of the good stuff, there's no better time than the present.
Sophie Smith -
6th May 2022 
