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Other UK airports planning expansions are likely to take a confidence hit following Leeds Bradford Airport's decision to pull its £150M expansion proposal, according to aviation experts.
Yesterday the airport’s chief executive Vincent Hodder announced that the airport is scrapping its plans due to the “excessive delays” and the decision to hold a public inquiry into the development. Instead the airport will focus on extending the existing terminal building, plans for which were approved by Leeds City Council in 2019.
An Aviation Environment Federation spokesperson emphasised the potential impact of the decision.
"Airport expansion proposals elsewhere in the UK are at different stages of the planning and legal process, but these airports will probably be feeling less confident about whether pursuing expansion is a wise investment," the spokesperson said.
"There are mounting uncertainties for airports both about when passenger demand will return and about the conclusions that decision-makers will reach about the measures necessary to deliver net zero aviation.
"This is an important victory for local campaigners. While the airport claims it can still grow using its existing permissions, the reality – as the airport itself previously argued - is that it will struggle to launch new routes without the change it was seeking to its operating hours."
The expansion plans for the airport – including a new terminal building – have caused controversy since their inception in 2020.
Housing minister Chris Pincher called-in the proposals in January, after environmentalists, locals and MPs lobbied against the council’s original decision to grant planning permission.
Opponents raised concerns that the expansion plans did not fit with the government’s climate agenda, while the airport argued that the new proposals are more efficient and sustainable than previous expansion plans that they replaced.
New Economic Foundation senior researcher Alex Chapman said that to prevent "climate breakdown", society needs to "start making different choices and the era of corporate greenwash needs to end".
He added: "Responsibility is greatest among those with the most power, this includes the senior management and owners of heavy polluting infrastructure such as airports. It is to be commended that Leeds Bradford Airport have heeded the calls of the community, scientists, and economists, and cancelled their proposed expansion.
"Its economic benefits were grossly overstated and Leeds City Region will prosper without it. Attention now turns to the owners of the other seven airports actively pursuing expansion and, in the absence of any viable government strategy, whether they will embrace their responsibility to future generations.”
Hodder said: "I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in the planning process, from the general public to the business community and councils across Yorkshire.
"Whilst this is a setback for our airport and region, we remain committed to investing in LBA to be an outstanding, decarbonised, modern airport for the future."
Pressure has been ramping up for all UK airport expansions to be paused. Last month, research by the New Economics Foundation revealed that emission clean up costs from departing flights at the eight airport expansions underway across the UK have more than doubled to £73.6bn.
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