Leeds Bradford Airport is an international airport in the North of England, 10km from the cities of Leeds and Bradford. It started off being called Yeadon Aerodrome, where over the years it developed to be a commercial airport. It is the highest airport within England.
During the airport’s existance, one particular event has stood out - Concorde landed at Leeds Bradford in 1986, despite the runway being only 2.25km long.
Today the airport is privately owned, seeking further expansion. It is base to low-cost airline Jet2.com, Ryanair and seasonally TUI Airways. Previously Monarch had a base here before its demise in October 2017. There is a Multiflight hangar, which provides various aviation services and facilities.
Leeds Bradford has a relatively short runway meaning that backtrack for departure is available, however it is not common that aircraft depart directly from D1 or A1.
3,612,117 passengers in 2015-2016 44,304 aircraft movement in 2015-2016
Due to the size of the airport, Leeds does not have a ground position. Leeds Tower controls apron movements, and Leeds Delivery provides route clearance prior to startup.
| Callsign | Frequency | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| “LEEDS APPROACH” | 134.575MHz | Designated Operational Coverage 40nm/10,000ft |
| “LEEDS TOWER” | 120.300MHz | Designated Operational Coverage 25nm/4,000ft |
| “LEEDS DELIVERY” | 121.800MHz | Designated Operational Coverage 5nm/SFC, open Winter 0600z-2200z, Summer 0500z-2100z |
| “LEEDS RADAR” | 134.575MHz | Designated Operational Coverage 40nm/10,000ft, departure frequency |
| “LEEDS DIRECTOR” | 125.375MHz | Designated Operational Coverage 40nm/10,000ft |
| “LEEDS INFORMATION” | 118.025MHz | Designated Operational Coverage 50nm/20,000ft |
| “LEEDS FIRE” | 121.600MHz | Available when Fire vehicle is attending an aircraft in an emergency |
All of the airspace controlled by “Leeds Approach” is designated within the eAIP for the United Kingdom. This diagram may be of use in order to visualise the airspace.
After leaving the Leeds Bradford Control Areas, aircraft should be handed off to Scottish Control.
Aircraft should use runway 32 for departure and runway 14 for arrival whenever possible in regards to wind, cloud base, approach aid limitations, aircraft performance and requirements. In the case of an emergency, the runway to be used is to be selected by the commander of the aircraft. Generally, in the real world, runway 32 is used the most for both takeoff and landing.
All aircraft should operate in a way that at the monitoring points they should not generate a noise level of:
Day is defined as being between 0700 and 2300 local, night being between 2300 and 0700 local.
Leeds Bradford has various Standard Instrument Departures, but no Standard Terminal Arrival Routes.
Aircraft should expect to recieve a NELSA3W departure for the following routes when runway 32 is in use: Northbound – N601 (NELSA), P18 (DCT - GASKO) Southbound – L612 (DCT - MCT - DCT -LISTO), N682 via P17 (DCT - BARTN), L8 via P18 (DCT-MCT-DCT-LISTO), M605 (DCT-POL) Westbound – Y70 (DCT - CROFT), L10 FL85 - (DCT - CROFT - DCT - WAL)
Aircraft should expect to recieve a POL2X departure for the following routes when runway 14 is in use: Northbound – N601 (POL), P18 (POL) Southbound – L612 (DCT - MCT - DCT - LISTO), N862 via P17 (POL), L8 via P18 (DCT - MCT - DCT - LISTO), M605 (POL) Westbound – Y70 (POL), L10 FL85 - (DCT - WAL)
LAMIX and DOPEK SIDs depart to the East and are valid for both runway 14 and runway 32.
Aircraft departing to aerodromes which do not connect to the routes above can expect to recieve individual tactical clearances.
The following routes are standard for aircraft approaching from airways: | Approach from | Via | Route | |—————|:——:|:————————-:| | NW | L612 | CALDA - POL - LBA | | | N57 | POL - LBA | | N | P18 | GASKO - LBA | | E | Y70 | GOLES - BATLI - LBA | | S |N57/T420| TNT - DENBY - LBA | | | N601 | EMBOR - TNT - DENBY - LBA | | SW | N864 | REXAM - BARTN - POL - LBA | | W |L10/L975| WAL - BARTN - POL - LBA |
Aircraft intending to enter the Leeds Bradford Control Zone or Control Area direct from the London Flight Information Region must require permission 10 minutes prior to reaching the CTR/CTA boundary.
VFR pilots should enter/exit using the following Visual Reference Points, however for the benefit of those who wish to determine their position using navigational aids, the points are listed below:
| VRP | VOR/DME Fix |
|---|---|
| Dewsbury (DBY), 534130N 0013806W | POL 102°, 17nm |
| Eccup Reservoir (ECP), 535216N 0013236W | POL 070°, 21nm |
| Harrogate (HGT), 535930N 0013136W | POL 055°, 25nm |
| Keighley (KLY), 535200N 0015436W | POL 044°, 10nm |
Leeds Radar
Leeds Approach
The only restricted airspace within the Leeds Bradford Control Area/Zone is EG R321 Wakefield, a circle of radius 1.3nm centred on 534057N 0013034W. This is not available in openScope as this restricted area only applies to helicopters, with exception of any helicopter operated by or on behalf of a police force for any area of the United Kingdom. The upper limit is 1,600ft and the lower limit is the surface.
Provided with the videomap is a top down view of the airport’s taxiways and runway. Each horizontal line on the extended centreline represents one (1) nautical mile, with each vertical line representing four (4) nautical miles.
In addition, the VRPs are marked on, those being the four (4) small circles, three within the airspace and one outside. The radials from the VOR Pole Hill to those VRPs are marked on too.
The lines representing radials on the videomap originating from the VHF omnidirectional range stations, Gamston and Pole Hill and Non-Directional Beacon, Leeds Bradford each represent four (4) nautical miles.
Plotted on are the following:
Leeds Bradford Charts The UK Integrated Aeronautical Information Package VATSIM UK VATSIM UK Leeds Cribsheet