THE BRONTES may have been around long before international air travel, but that hasn’t deterred Yorkshire residents from suggesting renaming Leeds Bradford Airport in their honour.

One in six respondents recommended renaming the regional airport "Bronte Airport" in a survey involving more than 1,000 local people.

The research, commissioned by the company Holiday Extras, follows recent reports that Birmingham Airport may be renamed "Shakespeare’s Airport" in North America in order to appeal to American holidaymakers.

Residents close to the UK’s major regional airports were given the opportunity to vote on the local literary hero they would choose to raise their area's international profile, alongside famous sons and daughters from a variety of other fields.

The Brontes of Haworth family achieved the number one position in the poll for Leeds Bradford Airport - indicating that Yorkshire people view the family name as being most likely to persuade overseas visitors to fly directly into the county.

Ant Clarke Cowell, communications director at Holiday Extras, said: “While we’re not aware of any plans to change the name at Leeds Bradford Airport – British treasures such as Robin Hood and Shakespeare have been used to highlight other UK airports, so we decided to explore what famous personality local people would choose as their international icon.

”It’s amazing to see the Brontes are the number one choice for residents in Yorkshire. Their legacy is already a huge driver for tourism in the region and it’s great to see this recognised in this survey.”