FLYER Bus

£2–4 into Leeds beats a £25+ airport taxi every time

The FLYER Bus is the main public transport link at Leeds Bradford Airport, with three routes: A1 to Leeds, A2 to Harrogate via Bradford, and A3 to Bradford via Guiseley/Shipley. Typical ride time into Leeds is around 30–40 minutes in light traffic, but locals report it can creep to 45–50 minutes through Horsforth and Kirkstall Road at rush hour.

Buses usually run every 30 minutes across the network, although the timetable sometimes shows closer to 20-minute gaps in daytime. Reddit users flag that early morning and late evening patterns on some legs quietly thin to half-hourly or even hourly, so a miss can mean a solid wait on the forecourt outside the terminal.

Pricing is the draw: riders report £2–4 one-way into Leeds on capped contactless or DaySaver-style tickets, versus roughly £25–35 for a taxi into city centre. Contactless is accepted on board; tap in on the yellow reader by the driver and caps kick in automatically after a couple of trips in the day.

Key detail: the three FLYER lines are not interchangeable once you leave the airport. A1 runs LBA–Leeds city centre, A2 runs LBA–Harrogate via Bradford, and A3 runs LBA–Bradford via Guiseley and Shipley. Check the front display and the small “A1/A2/A3” plate at the stand outside the terminal before you load your bags.

Regulars on RailUK Forums often ride FLYER only as far as Horsforth station, about 10–15 minutes from the airport, then switch to a Northern train into Leeds to dodge Kirkstall Road traffic. Others on r/leeds say they walk 10–15 minutes downhill to the A65 at Rawdon or Horsforth and grab alternative First Leeds buses if they have just missed an A1.

Watch out for peak loads: Reddit comments describe early-morning holiday departures and school breaks as “rammed”, with standing room only and suitcases in the aisle. Reliability gets called “hit and miss”, with occasional 30–40 minute gaps when services bunch or vanish from real-time tracking, and late-night trips after around 23:00 can simply not exist on some corridors.

Step-by-step: using the FLYER Bus from LBA

• 1. Exit arrivals and follow signs for buses. Walk the short 2–3 minute path to the bus stands directly outside the terminal.
• 2. Pick A1, A2 or A3. Check the front display for A1 Leeds, A2 Harrogate/Bradford or A3 Bradford and confirm with the driver if unsure.
• 3. Tap in and pay. Use contactless at the reader by the driver; expect around £2–4 into Leeds on caps, or ask the driver for a DaySaver-style ticket in cash.
• 4. Stow luggage low and move down. Use the racks near the front if free; on busy runs you may be standing for 20–30 minutes.
• 5. For rail connections, hop off at Horsforth. This stop is about 2–3 minutes’ walk from Horsforth station platforms for Northern trains.
• 6. On the way back, board in town 45–60 minutes before check-in closes. From central Leeds, that covers a 30–40 minute ride plus a buffer for traffic.

Final tip: for arrivals after about 22:30, check the specific A1/A2/A3 last-bus times before you fly; if your flight is scheduled close to the cut-off, screenshot the timetable and have a backup taxi number saved.