“Aren't you rather splitting hairs though?”
No, I’m simply trying to correct a misleading statement.
“but after 50+ years it's still a nightmare. Then there is the airport itself too high no space too short wrong direction on a bumpy field”
I’m not too sure I agree with you. Most people are travelling to the airport when the roads aren’t congested e.g. for morning departures. If you want to get to the airport from Leeds or Bradford or Harrogate or Airedale then it’s not difficult.
The physical constraints are well known but how serious are these commercially? Airlines seem to be able to provide flights throughout Europe-is there anywhere in Europe where there might be significant profitable demand that can’t be served from Yeadon because of the runway?
Inter-Continental flights are another issue, but again how significant are these? The long distance operators are established in Manchester, just a short distance away, and the chances of them relocating or duplicating their services are negligible.
Yeadon generally works OK and satisfies local demand. If you want long distance drive to Manchester take a connecting flight with KLM or BA (or if to North America with Aer Lingus via Dublin to save time on US immigration)
You make a comparison with the Leeds Arena and state that it is creating wealth and jobs for the Region. Have you any evidence to support this? The Council blew £80m on this (including receipts from the airport sale) so that people might watch the likes of Chas and Dave or Status Quo on the occasional days it is in use. How would transferring the airport to Church Fenton create wealth and jobs?