'No doubt' that regional airports will thrive

One of the bosses of Leeds/Bradford Airport has claimed there is absolutely no doubt that regional hubs around the UK are set to continue to grow and rise in popularity.

Tony Hallwood, commercial and aviation development director at the airport, said that regional bases are beginning to offer competition to traditionally dominant London hubs such as Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport.

"As [regional] airports introduce more destinations and more choice with a wider number of scheduled airlines, there is now less need for people to trawl down to London to connect to flights worldwide," he said.

Mr Hallwood claimed that, of all the regional airports around the UK, Leeds/Bradford has been one of the most successful, with traffic growth of over 75 per cent in the last four years.

Looking to the future, Mr Hallwood said that the Yorkshire airport has ambitions to offer its passengers access to destinations across the Atlantic.

"The top of our priority list will be to directly link Leeds with the States and New York, which will open up a range of new linkages across North America."