Bradford’s large Polish community could play a key role in further expansion of flights at Leeds-Bradford International Airport.

An executive of budget airline Ryanair, which is establishing a new base at Yeadon, said its flights to Cracow could expand by providing a convenient link to family and friends in Eastern Europe for local residents of Polish descent.

Dara Brady, deputy head, sales and marketing, at Ryanair, hoped that the district’s Polish population of around 30,000 would provide a basis for expanding the Cracow service along with other Eastern European routes.

He said: “We believe there’s plenty of scope to develop these routes. We’re also seeing strong demand for Nantes and Montpellier flights and will be developing the potential of Malta, which has strong links with the UK.”

Ryanair is transferring its main Northern base from Manchester to LBIA in March. The move will help add an extra one million passengers at LBIA and will potentially create around 1,000 jobs.

Mr Brady met airport chiefs to prepare for the move, which is partly driven by lower airport fees at Yeadon as well as the prospect of attracting extra passengers from the major conurbations of West Yorkshire by providing a wider choice of regular services.

Tony Hallwood, LBIA commercial director, said Ryanair’s new base and expanded operation at Yeadon would play a key role in supporting economic regeneration.

“It will help us to attract more passengers and be part of our ambitious plans to upgrade and expand our facilities. It should also mean fewer people needing to drive across the M62 to connect with flights – which will help to reduce Co2 emissions from cars.”

Ryanair is progressing with its plans for LBIA after predicting better annual profits after a sharp fall in fuel costs helped it narrow its quarterly losses.

Ryanair reported losses of £9.6m in the three months to December 31, from £88.8m in the same period a year earlier.

Fuel costs were down 37 per cent in the quarter, while average fares dropped 12 per cent.

The carrier, which said it has benefited in the recession as its competitors struggled, aims to increase passenger numbers by ten per cent to 73 million in 2011 as it moves into routes vacated by its rivals..

Ryanair, which launched a series of low promotional fares, said passenger numbers rose 14 per cent to 16 million.

The airline said fares had dropped in the period due to the recession, price promotions and currency fluctuations between the pound and the euro.