UK-based EasyJet will end operations at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) in England after Jan. 5, 2027, withdrawing from five routes despite expanding capacity at the airport during summer 2026.
The move will end the LCC’s services to Belfast International Airport (BFS), Barcelona El Prat Airport (BCN), Malaga Airport (AGP), Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). However, none of the five cities will lose nonstop connectivity from LBA under currently filed winter schedules.
“Following a review of our routes from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have made the decision to no longer operate flights from the airport after 5 January,” an EasyJet spokesperson said. “Our focus is on maintaining and developing routes which prove most popular with customers.”
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows the airline had planned to operate 5X-weekly between LBA and BFS during the winter 2026-27 season, alongside 2X-weekly flights to BCN and CDG. Limited shoulder-season flights to Malaga and Palma were also filed.
Jet2.com will continue serving Barcelona and Paris CDG, as well as Malaga and Palma. Ryanair also operates to Malaga and Palma.
Belfast International will be the only airport pair left unserved following EasyJet’s withdrawal. However, the wider Leeds-Belfast market will retain service through Aer Lingus Regional’s flights to Belfast City Airport.
The withdrawal marks a reversal from EasyJet’s recent expansion at LBA. The airline increased its summer network from four destinations in 2025 to five in 2026 through the addition of Barcelona, which started during the winter 2025-26 season. Summer 2026 departing capacity rose by 35.8% year over year to about 65,000 seats, while flight frequencies increased from 292 to 385.
Despite that growth, EasyJet remains a relatively small operator at LBA. It accounts for about 3.3% of capacity during summer 2026, ranking fifth behind Jet2, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and KLM.
Jet2 and Ryanair together control 83.5% of capacity at the airport. Jet2 is the largest operator with about 944,300 departing seats and a 48.3% share, followed by Ryanair with 688,100 seats and 35.2%.
“We value the relationship we have built with Leeds Bradford Airport, and we always keep options for our network under review, with the aim of providing more choice and connectivity where we see demand,” the EasyJet spokesperson added.
OAG data shows EasyJet remains the UK’s largest airline by seat capacity during summer 2026, offering about 23.4 million departure seats from and within the country. This represents an increase of 5.2% from summer 2025, outpacing overall UK market growth of 2.1%.
Its share of UK capacity has consequently risen from 19.5% to 20.1%. Ryanair, including Ryanair UK, ranks second with approximately 22.7 million departure seats and a 19.4% share, followed by British Airways with 18.9 million and 16.2%. Jet2 ranks fourth with 9.8 million seats and an 8.4% share.
EasyJet has supported its expansion by opening bases at Birmingham Airport in March 2024 and London Southend Airport in March 2025. Its 11th UK base opened at Newcastle International Airport in March 2026 with three Airbus A320-family aircraft, expanding the airline’s network there to more than 20 destinations.
The decision comes less than two weeks after EasyJet agreed to a £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) takeover by U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2027.
In July, EasyJet reported that headline profit before tax fell 70% year over year to £85 million in the three months to June 30, as fuel costs increased by £105 million despite group revenue rising 2% to £2.98 billion.
LBA has been contacted for comment.
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