MONARCH airlines has stressed its commitment to Leeds Bradford Airport despite national cutbacks last year.

The airline's CEO Andrew Swaffield re-confirmed the airport's importance to his company during a visit to Leeds Bradford last week.

Earlier this year the European airline said it said it was on course to return to profit following a rescue package of more than £100 million.

The Luton-based carrier said it had reduced its fleet by eight planes to 34 and would end long-haul and charter flights this summer as it turned itself into a short-haul airline.

During his visit to LBA Mr Swaffield described the challenges Monarch had faced and the restructuring which had been needed last year. The company stopped flights from East Midlands airport as part of its restructuring package, but Mr Swaffield stressed its commitment to Leeds Bradford.

"We took a careful look at all of our bases and took the view that Leeds Bradford was very important to us and that we wanted to remain here and wanted to offer routes all year round," he said.

He added: "We are very confident about the future here."

Mr Swaffield said the airline was "really pleased" with the performance of its routes from LBA, the most northern of its bases in the UK.

He said the airline's restructuring last year was very much about getting its costs in line with its competitors and had involved a lot of changes, but the business was now doing well.

"We are on the route to sustainable profitability and we are very happy with where we have got to," he said.

Monarch was rescued last year by family investment firm Greybull Capital, who pumped £125 million into the loss-making company. The business also axed 700 jobs.

Earlier this year it was on track to post “double digit earnings”, compared to £44 million of losses last year excluding exceptional costs. The carrier said it had hit all of its revenue and cost targets in the 100 days since last year’s restructure.

Staff at the carrier, which employs about 3,200 people, agreed to a 30 per cent pay cut as part of the reorganisation – which is set to cut £200 million of annual costs.