The scheme, announced by the airport's new private equity owners Bridgepoint, is at the centre of a £70m masterplan to increase passenger numbers to five million a year by 2013.

More on this in our BusinessTalk podcast »

Bosses will submit a planning application to Leeds Council later this month in the hope of starting building work on the project next April.

Airport chief executive John Parkin said the "exciting" improvements would help Leeds Bradford lure passengers from Manchester and give the region's economy a boost.

"At the moment, we have an awful lot of people travelling from our catchment area across the M62," he said.

"We need to get the facilities and services here in our back yard so that we address the transport requirements of the region in the region. But we do not need a runway extension, there is no need for any significant increase in night flying, and there is no need for any increase in off-airport car parking."

Bosses say the current terminal building is beset with problems, including congestion, insufficient circulation space and inadequate segregation of arriving and departing passengers.

The planned two-storey expansion, expected to cost £28m, would provide a new passenger security screening zone, a new departure lounge, an improved baggage reclaim hall and better immigration facilities.

An extra £450,000 is expected to be spent on improving access roads to the airport, as well as a feasibility study exploring the possibility of a light rail link.

Details of the scheme will go on display this week at the airport and in the neighbouring areas of Horsforth and Yeadon.

Mr Parkin said the expansion was needed for the airport to offer more medium and long-haul flights, a key element of the plan to raise yearly passenger numbers from 2.9 million to five million.

"It is a big investment project, notwithstanding the current economic environment, but we have a great deal of confidence that it will go ahead," he said.

"When Bridgepoint acquired the building last year, they said this would happen; it is now happening and we expect to be creating jobs.

"There are about 2,200 people working on site at the airport now and, roughly speaking, you need 1,000 jobs for every million passengers per annum.

"With this investment we are providing the facilities required for a large increase in passenger throughput.

"We have 76 routes at present, and we are adding to that a number at a rate of roughly one a month. We are looking to add short-haul, as well as medium and longer-haul flights over the five-year period."