December 2018
December 2025
aena due diligence
York Aviation is pleased to have supported Aena Internacional as part of the advisory team providing due diligence services in connection with Aena’s latest strategic investment in the United Kingdom airport market.
The transaction involves Aena’s acquisition of 51% of the new holding company that owns and manages 100% of Leeds Bradford Airport and 49% of Newcastle Airport respectively, representing a significant step in the continued development of Aena’s UK airport portfolio. The investment further consolidates Aena’s position in the UK market, building on the success of its existing involvement at London Luton Airport, where it has been an established shareholder for several years.
Leeds Bradford Airport and Newcastle Airport are both important regional gateways, serving large catchment areas and playing a key role in supporting regional connectivity and economic growth. Aena’s investment reflects its long-term confidence in the UK aviation market and its strategy of partnering with experienced infrastructure investors and airport operators to deliver sustainable growth.
York Aviation provided technical, commercial, and operational due diligence support to Aena Internacional as part of a wider advisory team. This engagement builds on a strong working relationship, with York Aviation having advised Aena on a number of airport transactions in recent years across multiple markets.
York Aviation congratulates Aena Internacional and all parties involved on reaching this important milestone and looks forward to continuing its collaboration with Aena as the transaction progresses and as its UK airport portfolio continues to evolve.
Luton Rising
December 2025
ltn high court judgement
York Aviation welcomes the recent High Court judgment dismissing the judicial review challenge to the decision to grant development consent for the expansion of London Luton Airport. The Court rejected the legal challenge, confirming that the Secretary of State’s decision to approve the Development Consent Order (DCO) was lawful and that the statutory planning and environmental assessment processes had been correctly applied.
The judgment represents an important step forward for the project, providing clarity and certainty on the robustness of the DCO process for nationally significant aviation infrastructure.
York Aviation has been proud to work with Luton Rising for many years, with our involvement spanning back to 2007. Most recently, we provided extensive support to the preparation and submission of the Development Consent Order application for London Luton Airport, which was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in February 2023.
Our work informed the Need Statement within the application and included the development of passenger demand forecasts, the economic and policy case for growth, airport planning parameters and masterplanning support, and detailed movement and fleet mix forecasts to underpin the environmental and technical assessments.
December 2024
GAD World
York Aviation are pleased to once again be sponsoring GAD World in 2024 this time in Munich. GAD World remains the leading global event covering airport investment, financing and development.
Louise Congdon and James Brass of York Aviation were in attendance at the event in Munich and James was delighted to join the debate on Airport Demand Management as a panelist along with other industry specialists.
Louise caught up with old friends and colleagues Neil Pakey and Clive Condie. 40 years ago at Manchester Airport Louise employed the pair and during their time together they helped to deliver traffic growth from 6mppa to 16mppa along with the completion of Terminal 2 and successfully gaining planning approval for the second runway.
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Bottom Image:
(Left) Neil Pakey - President & CEO at Nieuport Aviation Terminal Owner Operators @ Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
(Centre) Louise Congdon - Managing Partner @ York Aviation
(Right) Clive Condie - Airport Operating Partner @ Ardian
April 2024
RYR
Our Partner James Brass was very pleased to be in London with Michael O'Leary and Ryanair - Europe's Favourite Airline on 23rd April to launch York Aviation's new report which demonstrats the sheer scale of Ryanair’s importance to the UK economy.
August 2023
GAD World
York Aviation are pleased to once again be joining GAD World as sponsors and partners in 2023. GAD World remains the leading global event covering airport investment, financing and development.
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YAL has significant experience and a strong track record in providing technical advisory services across the airport investment and refinancing sector for bidders, vendors and lenders. As a result, GAD World presents an important opportunity for meeting clients and engaging with new stakeholders in relation to airport investment in particular.
GAD World runs from 7-9th November 2023 in Barcelona and as an industry partner, YAL is pleased to be able to offer a 10% discount which can be claimed using the code YORK10 here.
Image: Richard Connelly, Principal Consultant and Business Development Director at YAL speaking in the 2022 GAD World session Forecasting Deep Dive: Where can we look for certainty on growth & future traffic mix?
February 2023
Luton dco
On 27th February, Luton Rising, the freeholder of London Luton Airport submitted their Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate. This is the first significant DCO related to airports submitted in the UK and will seek permission to grow the airport from 18 mppa to 32 mppa with a new terminal.
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York Aviation have been heavily involved in this DCO submission, building on continuous work for Luton Rising since 2007. The York Aviation work has been drawn together in the Need Statement within the application and includes:
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Development of demand forecasts for the Airport through a sophisticated demand allocation model for the London system;
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Development of the economic case for growth;
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Development of the policy case for growth;
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Development of detailed airport planning parameters and support on airport masterplanning;
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Development of detailed movement forecasts, fleet mixes and outputs to support the environmental and technical assessments.
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Over the coming months, the Planning Inspectorate will evaluate the application and an examination is expected later in the summer.
July 2021
New Office
Due to our continued expansion, York Aviation are pleased to have moved to a new office within Cheshire. This now provides us with a dedicated office space with new facilities.
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Our new address therefore is:
York Aviation
Atlas House
Old Hall Lane
Macclesfield
SK10 2DT
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Our telephone number continues to be +44(0)1625 614051
March 2020
Flybe
York Aviation are saddened to learn about the demise of Flybe, both with regard to the direct impact of the failure, but also the critical regional connectivity that will be lost, at least in the short term. Regional airports now face a difficult challenge to secure lost capacity from the relatively limited number of likely replacement carriers, particularly at a time when demand is softening across the market due to external factors. Airports will have to demonstrate a compelling business case for replacement services to secure available capacity in the near term.
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York Aviation are well placed to provide support to regional airports in securing lost capacity and regional connectivity. We have full Civil Aviation Authority survey data back to 2003, which allows us to identify key opportunities moving forward and to help airlines understand the benefits that they will derive from proposed services. Combining this data with our unparalleled expertise and experience in the regional aviation sector, we can identify strong cases for sustainable routes from regional airports.
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As a consequence of Flybe’s demise, it is likely that regional airports will be facing pressures on aeronautical revenues in the coming months. York Aviation can offer businesses case making support that accounts for the benefits, or otherwise, of possible deals with prospective carriers when accounting for the implications on commercial revenues and operating costs.
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York Aviation extends its services to regional political and socio-economic stakeholders who are seeking the security of regional connectivity in the short and longer term. We are recognised experts in assessing the socio-economic benefits of air connectivity and have supported a number of successful Public Service Obligation (PSO) applications, which have resulted in a range of financially sustainable connections between UK regions. Crucially York Aviation has strong skills in assessing the wider economic benefits which can be key to unlocking the potential of public sector support for route development.
June 2020
Post-Covid Airport Planning
As airlines recommence services and demand returns, will airports be able to incorporate social distancing measures? It may be possible in the early stages of recovery, but any prolonged requirements for social distancing may require temporary or longer term alterations to terminals and passenger flows. York Aviation can assist in the evaluation of these capacity considerations, with capabilities to incorporate 1.5m & 2m minimum distances, as well as other measures, into our capacity planning tools.
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August 2019
ArcPORT
York Aviation are now offering advanced ArcPORT airport modelling and simulation services to our clients, supplementing our existing wide range of airport planning tools and capabilities. ArcPORT provides a range of simulation solutions which can be used in early airport planning and design through to modelling changes in day-to-day operations in an existing airport environment. YAL’s expertise in ArcPORT covers airside and terminal modelling capabilities, which allows us to provide planning advice across the whole airport system. Contact us to discuss how we can use ArcPORT to complement our comprehensive airport planning services.
April 2019
Routes Europe
York Aviation are heading to Routes Europe 2019. This is a great opportunity to talk to airports, airlines and public bodies about our extensive range of Route Development and related services. York's team take an holistic approach to sustainable air service development and we would love to talk to you at Routes Europe 2019 about these. For a brief overview of this area of our business, click here. Feel free to contact us if you wish to set up a meeting in Hannover.
