WILLIAM Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has opened the new £11 million passenger terminal development at Leeds Bradford Airport.

The new terminal is expected to increase the airport’s activity to dealing with 4.4 million passengers and potentially deliver more than £130 million in growth in the economy, creating more than 3,000 jobs, said John Parkin, chief executive of the airport.

The development, which started last December, has provided a 65 per cent increase in airside (the part of an airport directly involved in the arrival and departure of aircraft) space over two floors, with a new larger departure lounge, a range of new food and beverage units, a walk-through tax and duty free store and additional retail brands.

It has created an additional 2,500 sq metres of airside space and the security search zone has also been extended by about 250 sq metres, an increase of 40 per cent.

Mr Hague said: “Regional airports can make a vital contribution to local and regional economies and Leeds Bradford is an excellent example of that, providing more than £100 million of value to the city region, a figure set to grow by ten per cent with the introduction of the new British Airways services.”