Interesting!!!
Leeds Bradford International Airport
8.35 The core catchment area of Leeds Bradford International Airport encompasses the most densely populated parts of West Yorkshire, although it also draws passengers from further afield, particularly North Yorkshire. The addition of new 'no-frills' international services to the airport's existing full scheduled and charter network has brought rapid growth in 2002-2003. The airport will handle around 2mppa in 2003 and is forecast to grow to around 7mppa by 2030.
8.36 Additional terminal capacity would be required to accommodate this level of growth. A runway extension of some 300 metres may also be desirable in the future to facilitate medium and long-haul operations, and to allow a wider range of aircraft to operate non-stop services with full payloads to an extended range of destinations.
8.37 This level of growth could lead to a small increase in the number of people affected by noise, and every effort should be made to mitigate and minimise these impacts. Improvements to both public transport and road access to the airport may also be required in the medium term as passenger volumes continue to grow.
8.38 Subject to these points, we would support the further development of the airport as set out above, and we invite the local planning authority to safeguard for the runway extension should the airport operators bring forward such proposals through their airport master plan.