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.
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.
Read More: Leeds Bradford Airport scraps plans for additional £150 million terminal
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.”
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:
- London City
- Gatwick
- Heathrow
- Newcastle
- East Midlands
- Luton
- Birmingham
- Liverpool
- Edinburgh
- Aberdeen
- Manchester
- Stansted
- Glasgow
- Belfast International
- Bristol
- Leeds Bradford
Read More: Flybe returns to Leeds Bradford airport under new management
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
