Symphony - that of course is the real crux of the issue; the fundamental problem is that demand to fly in or out of Yorkshire equates to millions of seats each year, its just that most of this demand is serviced through other airports. As the dft said in the aviation consultation document for the North:
7.16.1 The key factor in any discussion of air services in Yorkshire and the Humber is the very high levels of demand leakage to other regions, especially Manchester (51%), the London Airports (11%) and East Midlands (5%). In total 75% of passengers originating in Yorkshire and the Humber actually fly from airports in other regions. The recent and potential future development of Manchester Airport is very relevant in this context.
Geographically, Yorkshire is a big place and the rate of leakage will differ depending on where in the county you look. In the Finningley core catchment area of South Yorks and North Notts, levels of leakage to East Mids, Brum and the London Airports will be higher than the core LBA catchment which is 40 odd miles away and where leakage to MAN and LPL is higher.
The main point to note is that the core catchment areas of LBA and Finningley are distinct and sizeable. The debate is less about Leeds vs Finningley and much more about Leeds AND Finningley vs MAN, EMA and the rest.
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