A Brief History

Leeds and Bradford councils jointly opened the site as Yeadon Aerodrome in 1931, for club flights and training. Scheduled flights began four years later in 1935 to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Blackpool and the Isle of Man.

In 1936, the 609 Squadron of the RAF formed at Yeadon and seasonal flights between Yeadon and Isle of Man and Liverpool also started this year. Work began on a terminal building this year, but progress was halted after only one wing had been built.

Civil aviation ended in 1939 when WW II started and the nearby Avro factory was used to produce military aircraft, many of which flew from the Aerodrome.

Civil flights didn't recommence until 1947 and scheduled flights to London began in 1960, and Dublin was added shortly after.

For a period in the 1980s there were transatlantic services from Leeds Bradford Airport operated by Wardair and using the Boeing 747 that flew to Toronto Pearson International Airport.

In 1986, Concorde visited Leeds Bradford for the first time with an estimated 60,000 people at the airport to see it land.

Traffic

In 2005 more than 2.6 million passengers passed through the airport, a 64% increase in just five years and more than twice as many compared with 1997 (1.2 million).