Forty new airport jobs have been created by budget airline Jet2.com at its Yeadon base.

The company is employing its own team of baggage handlers at Leeds-Bradford International Airport in a move which takes the number of Jet2 staff at the airport to 120. It means that the total payroll of the airline and its sister company Jet2holidays now rises to 700.

Jet2.com said it will be in control of handling its passengers’ through the airport and will be able to speed up the process.

From this week the new Jet2.com team will be handling all its customers’ luggage using its baggage equipment at Leeds-Bradford.

The move means that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, which offer customers a 22kg baggage allowance, will not have to wait for a baggage team to finish working on other aircraft .

The new baggage handlers will be in addition to Jet2.com’s check in staff at Leeds-Bradford working in its own designated area of the airport terminal.

Ian Doubtfire, Jet2.com managing director, said: “Handling the baggage ourselves will give us more control and enable us to better look after our passengers’ bags so that we can provide an even swifter service. When people have landed back from a trip or holiday they just want to get home – handling luggage ourselves means we can make this process even slicker for them.”

Jet2.com has eight UK bases serving 41 sun, ski and city destinations from Leeds Bradford, 34 from Manchester, 25 from Newcastle, 14 from East Midlands, 12 from Belfast International, 15 from Edinburgh, eight from Blackpool and nine from Glasgow.