Leedsbradford Airport

2008 saw the introduction of long-haul scheduled flights to Islamabad with Shaheen Air International. This service was introduced in February but ceased after only four months due to a shortage of aircraft.[8] The route was reinstated by Pakistan International Airlines in July 2008, this too however was due to be suspended from June 2011 but it has been decided to continue the twice weekly service with an Airbus A310 aircraft, with the possibility of introducing a Boeing 777 in the near future. In November 2008 the early stages of the airport masterplan were clarified, with in-depth detailed plans for the expansion of the airport terminal being published, at an estimated cost of £28 million. The airport lost its direct link with London in March 2009 when BMI ceased its route to London Heathrow. Flybe revived the link with a route to London Gatwick on 29 June 2009, but it only lasted until 31 March 2011, meaning the airport is without an air link to London for the second time in two years. On 11 August 2009 Ryanair announced it would set up a new base at Leeds Bradford, initially basing two aircraft at the airport offering 17 routes from March 2010. Ryanair also said they would be interested in starting flights to Eastern Europe in the near future. On 16 June 2011, Ryanair announced that they would start two new routes to Eastern Europe, meeting the pledge they made two years previously. The first route, Riga in Latvia is to commence from 2 November 2011 as is Kaunas, Lithuania.