The increase in the number of passengers using Leeds/Bradford airport to fly to Dublin could lead to a new route being opened to meet demand.

According to Ryan Air's head of communications, Ethel Power, the number of people using their two flights a day from the airport to Dublin and back again has doubled over the last year.

She said: "If Leeds/Bradford airport continues to grow in the way it has been over the last year we will have to examine putting on more routes."

Miss Power was in the UK as part of a nation wide tour promoting the airline which she said in the past wasn't "Out and about enough".

The company, which is the UK's third biggest operator, is also looking for a new base in Europe to add to its current ones at Dublin and Stansted airports.

This includes the twelve airports on mainland Britain and would mean a massive boost for the final winner in terms of economic considerations and prestige.

Miss Power said the UK market was the airliner's core business and they didn't want to neglect it.

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