Leeds Bradford Airport hails 'busiest year ever' with 4.29m passengers - as night-flight hearing costs revealed

The airport, which is set for a change of ownership in the second half of 2026, has just published its annual results for the 2024/25 financial year, during which time 4.29 million passengers travelled via LBA - six per cent up on the previous year.

Turnover increased by 14 per cent to £61.4m while EBITDA operational profits before exceptional items rose 20 per cent to £20m.

Jet2 and Ryanair remain the two largest airlines operating from LBA, which saw a 26 per cent increase in turnover from aeronautical activities and an 11 per cent increase in income from commercial streams including car parking and retail concessions.

Operating profit was £6.4m compared to £5.1m the year before. However, total comprehensive profit was only £527,000 compared to £32.8m the year before after a £41.5m revaluation of assets boosted the accounts for 2023/24.

LBA’s costs during the year did include £517,000 on legal fees relating to a planning appeal over night-flight rules.

A Planning Inspectorate hearing took place earlier this year after LBA appealed against Leeds City Council rejecting two applications and delaying a decision on a third relating to the issue.

Two of the appeals were dismissed, with one allowed.

The case followed the council imposing an enforcement notice on the airport over 272 unauthorised noisy night-time flights between 2008 and 2019. That came after the airport separately broke rules on how many flights it is allowed to operate between 11pm and 7am.

The airport is in the midst of a £100m expansion and improvement programme to its terminal which is due to be completed by late 2026. LBA said the regeneration has the potential to create 1,500 direct jobs by 2030, support a further 4,000 new jobs indirectly and bring in £940m a year to the local economy.

The report said: "The terminal will have new efficient heating, lighting, plant and machinery.

"Upgrades include new baggage reclaim, new security screening equipment, upgraded communications, data and security camera systems and provisions for future technology improvements like e-gates at the border and at departure gates, passenger monitoring technology and self-service retail technologies.

"With an upgraded LBA, we expect to see airlines investing in new destinations and deploying their newest, quietest, and most efficient aircraft at the airport.”

It was announced in December that Aena, an airport operator owned by the Spanish government, is to take a majority stake in Leeds Bradford Airport as part of a £270m deal.

Aena is due to take a 51 per cent shareholding in a newly-formed holding company which will own all of Leeds Bradford Airport and 49 per cent of Newcastle International Airport. The remaining 49 per cent in the new holding company will be held by LBA’s current owners, infrastructure manager InfraBridge.

The two firms already have joint ownership of Luton Airport. Aena, which also has 46 airports in Spain and 17 in Brazil as well as other locations in Mexico and Jamaica, has signed a contract to buy the stake in the new holding company for £270m.

Vincent Hodder, chief executive of LBA, said the deal was a “positive development" for the site. He said: "We are excited about the future as we welcome Aena as our new majority shareholder. Aena is the world’s largest airport operator by passenger numbers and brings deep operational expertise, and a strong track record of investing in and developing high quality airport infrastructure around the world.”