Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has approved plans for expansion at London Luton Airport (LTN/EGGW) despite recomendations for it to be rejected on environmental grounds.
The plans will see capacity at Luton Airport increase from the current 17 million to over 32 million thanks largely to a second termina being built.
New and updated taxiways will also be built to help improve flow of traffic around the airport itself.
The decision was made due to the benefits to the local area in terms of jobs and winder economic and social benefits.
In a statement, Prime Minister Kier Starmer welcomed the decision and said “Improving our national infrastructure is critical to achieving growth and delivering jobs across the country, and this decision will help us deliver growth as part of our plan for change.
“This step underlines the government’s commitment to unlocking vital infrastructure and backing growth.”
The current UK government promised to block the blockers when it came to planning permission when it was in the public interest or vital national infrastructure.
Luton Rising which owns Luton Airport estimates the benefit to the local economy could be as high as £1.5bn. It expects to be at the neww capacity of 32 million by 2043.
