A RALLYING cry has been issued for people to get behind a new direct route between Leeds Bradford Airport and Munich.

The new daily service from Flybmi, which will launch in April, has been heralded as a vital way to connect Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region both to Europe and the rest of the world.

David Laws, the airport's chief executive, hammered home the key role the success of the route would play in attracting other airlines and being on their radar.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, he said: "It makes connectivity, not just into Europe, but to the wider world, so much easier for the people of Yorkshire.

"What this new route does, it gets you to Munich and then you've got the choice of the whole of the Lufthansa onward programme to pick from.

"That is significant, because it gives people a choice. Currently, people will be thinking 'I want to go into Germany and I want to go with Lufthansa', to do that, they have to take that torturous journey across the Pennines to Manchester.From this, those days are gone."

Plans for a major extension at the airport to "create an airport Yorkshire can be proud of" were given the go ahead back in December.

On top of this, a new parkway station for the airport is seen as a significant step in improving connectivity. Flybmi Managing Director Jochen Schnadt said the rate of connectivity in the Leeds City Region is underserved, particularly from a business point of view.

He said the route offered a "catalystic opportunity" and said if this initial service is successful, other potential routes could be looked at.

"The ability to seamlessly and easily connect via Munich to the rest of the Germany to get to Switzerland, to get to Northern Italy, to even get to the Ukraine and even to Beijing at this point in time, I think is hugely important," he said.

Henri Murison, Northern Powerhouse Partnership Director, said while direct, point-to-point European connectivity is needed, the connectivity to long-haul destinations is also important.

"As the airport brings in these new flights, of course, if you're a business wanting to export to Germany, this is great news. But it's also great news if you're a business wanting to export to China.

"If you look at the work that has gone in from the whole city region to market the Leeds City Region, including Bradford at its heart, to a Chinese audience, to Chinese investors, in reality, having an extra flight, not just having to rely on KLM or going through Manchester, it just helps to cement the fact that it's not that difficult to get to China."

He added: "I absolutely believe that enhanced connectivity internationally will drive improved productivity and create jobs in the Bradford district.

"That is the case across the North of England, but being in such close proximity to their own, dedicated, regional airport, businesses in Bradford, in the wider Leeds City Region, have got literally no excuse not to take advantage of it."