Leeds Bradford Airport

The only positive thing I can really say about LBA is that it is close to where I live. That used to be a great advantage because it meant that I could be dropped off by a relative rather than having to park or get a taxi. My father hadn't expected the charge and didn't have money with him. It was only due to someone's generosity that he was able to leave the car park. Security and passport control are overly busy with inconsistent instructions being given to people. When you eventually get to the departure lounge the toilets are dirty and there is no where to sit. Tables in the upstairs cafe are full of dirty trays and the staff struggle to cope with a queue. So many people were queuing for the shops downstairs that people could not get off the down-escalator causing a pile-up. Getting rid of the shop would make things more pleasant for people but the cynic in me thinks that would be the last thing to go. When you arrive back and want a taxi there is a strange system. What's wrong with a normal rank like every other airport. LBA used to be a good regional airport but it has seriously deteriorated in the last few years.

The £2 drop off fee should be the final nail in this dismal Airport you spend more time walking up steps and then down the other side. It has no rail link and no fast road link traffic jams all around due to no dual carriage ways. And any wind or Fog and your flights is cancelled anyway.

The new £2 charge simply for driving past the terminal is another nail in the coffin of what used to be a pleasant experience i.e. using a small regional airport. It's a long drag up from the "free" long-stay car park only to find the first terminal doors that you come to are locked! If you do drop off and pay the fee it's still a long way to get inside because of paranoia about security. I have never seen an airport this bad including Heathrow Gatwick Manchester and Geneva. Dreadful in bad weather. It's wrong that traffic wardens should patrol the service roads to enable a private company to extort this rip-off charge from people. Most of the upstairs seating (there isn't any downstairs) has been ripped out to make a bigger cafe so people clog up all the tables instead so if you are actually wishing to eat there are no free tables. This was probably a deliberate policy so people will pay to use the lounge. Flying nowadays isn't a barrel of laughs with all the security etc but LBA makes it much worse.

Not a very pleasant experience. My flight was at 9 am and therefore after the main rush but the whole terminal appeared to be jammed with people in corners between shops and bars. Very poorly laid out. The one consolation was that the Business Lounge was a pleasant refuge from all of this. The airport badly needs a terminal capable of handling its passenger load and better road access. With those it could be a good experience as the staff were uniformly pleasant and helpful.

Arrived only once at LBA. After a long walk from a low cost air park welcomed by a very steep and long staircase plus other mixed obstacles Then a very long walk to the passport control with a nice view of the tarmac. Usually I only walk that long when moving from terminal A to terminal B not in a single terminal airport. My experience at the arrivals was very quick as the 757 bus to Leeds city station was there for me. What I keep positive from the experience is the feeling of landing in a windy natural green environment which gives me an idea of what flying should have been many decades ago.

LBA-AMS-JNB return. LBA is a shabby and grubby airport. We had the misfortune to travel at peak holiday season. Full of loud rude people. Very poor facilities for such a large catchment area. The drop off charge is a rip off and so are the other parking charges. As a regular traveller to South Africa Heathrow though a longer drive is a far better experience.

Flew in from Palma yesterday and the contrast between the two airports couldn't have been different. Leeds £1 charge for the trolley £2 charge for driving through the car park local traffic wardens waiting to pounce on anyone having the audacity to stop on the service roads huge queue at passport control. Welcome to Britain! In short Leeds Bradford is a grubby little money-making operation.

I use this airport between 6 and 12 times per year. It amazes me how quickly they can make it worse but they seem to manage it every time I use it. The £2 fee for passengers being dropped off started the day I returned last week. The extra long queues at passport control the longest yet. Around 25 minutes.

A small over utilised airport with poor customer service and amenities - in the 6 months I've been unlucky enough to use it it's getting worse. As pointed out - it's a long walk from any short stay through check in and security. This has recently been made worse. In the event someone wants to drop you off at the airport - they will now pay £2 for the pleasure (unless you use a distant car park). There's little space in the check in areas (except the separate Jet 2 portacabin) leading to mixed queues of passengers arriving at the airport some waiting to check in and some waiting to go through security. There is one person handling security for 'standard' passengers - which is the majority of them. when I leave in the morning - it takes approximately 15 minutes to clear the passport check and another 10 to get through security. Jet 2 and others have scheduled flights which converge between 0730 and 1100 leading to a couple of thousand people (no exaggeration) attempting to get past one person. Of course if you're willing to stump up another £3 you can 'fast track' - with another dedicated member of staff waiting to check your boarding pass. Airside facilities are dire and over utilised. No choice but to wander through shop to move from security to the gates - carefully laid out to ensure it's impossible for more than a couple of people to pass through without bumping into each other. Awaiting you is insufficient seating and the usual dreadful airport chain cafes. Staff are surly on the whole and gate announcements are tardy and inaccurate. Looking to board at gate 9 for Southampton. That's fine - as long as you wait for an entire group heading for Belfast to board first. No co-ordination between ground crew and general lack of engagement. To summarise - unpleasant experience.

I used this airport again last week for the first time in a couple of years and found it better than recent reviews suggested. The weather was awful and the car park was in a treacherous state but inside the terminal information about delays was good (announcements actually apologised for the 'inconvenience that will be caused' rather than the more usual mealy-mouthed 'may be caused') staff were available polite and cheerful and my BMI flight to BRU got away less than an hour late despite the need for de-icing.