Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has approved plans to expand Luton Airport, despite a recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate to reject the proposal over environmental concerns.
The decision will allow the Bedfordshire airport to nearly double its annual passenger capacity from 18 million to 32 million by the mid-2040s.
The expansion includes building a new terminal, extending the current airfield platform, and developing new airside and landside facilities.
The approval comes after the decision was delayed three times since the original August 2024 deadline.
The project will allow Luton's runway to be used for 77,000 more flights per year than it saw in 2024. Luton Borough Council has said the expansion will create 11,000 jobs nationally, with 6,000 of these in the three counties surrounding the airport.
The council, which owns the airport through Luton Rising, estimates the project would support around 12,000 new jobs in the area. It could also provide an additional economic benefit of £1.6 billion per year.
A government source said: "The Transport Secretary has approved the expansion of Luton airport for its benefits to Luton and the wider UK economy."
The source added that expansion would "deliver huge growth benefits for Luton with thousands of good, new jobs and a cash boost for the local council which owns the airport."
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Labour sources indicated that the promise of additional jobs had outweighed environmental considerations. The announcement comes less than a week after Vauxhall's van-making factory in Luton was closed, putting up to 1,100 jobs at risk.
The Planning Inspectorate had raised specific concerns about disruption to the "relative tranquillity" of the Chilterns National Landscape, an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Under the expansion plan, a plane would fly over the area up to once every 15 minutes, compared with once every half an hour currently.
Wigmore Park, which adjoins the airport, would be destroyed as part of the plan, though the airport proposes creating "replacement open space" that is "at least 10 per cent bigger."
Jenny Bates from Friends Of The Earth criticised the decision, saying: "It's beggars belief that while the UK has multiple wildfire warnings in place, airport expansion is being given the greenlight."
Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon described the Government's approval as "a welcome development". He said the decision "has the potential to boost the local economy and enhance connectivity across the UK".
However, he criticised Labour, saying they "still do not understand that backing projects that will take years to complete will not mitigate against the impacts of their punishing jobs tax."
He claimed this tax would "devastate the economy, kill jobs and make every working household £3,500 worse off".
Luton was the UK's fifth busiest airport last year, with 16.9 million passengers travelling on 132,000 flights. The airport claims to have majority local support for the expansion plan, which is now "ready to go".
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The decision will allow the Bedfordshire airport to nearly double its annual passenger capacity from 18 million to 32 million by the mid-2040s.
The expansion includes building a new terminal, extending the current airfield platform, and developing new airside and landside facilities.
The approval comes after the decision was delayed three times since the original August 2024 deadline.
The project will allow Luton's runway to be used for 77,000 more flights per year than it saw in 2024. Luton Borough Council has said the expansion will create 11,000 jobs nationally, with 6,000 of these in the three counties surrounding the airport.
The council, which owns the airport through Luton Rising, estimates the project would support around 12,000 new jobs in the area. It could also provide an additional economic benefit of £1.6 billion per year.
A government source said: "The Transport Secretary has approved the expansion of Luton airport for its benefits to Luton and the wider UK economy."
The source added that expansion would "deliver huge growth benefits for Luton with thousands of good, new jobs and a cash boost for the local council which owns the airport."
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Labour sources indicated that the promise of additional jobs had outweighed environmental considerations. The announcement comes less than a week after Vauxhall's van-making factory in Luton was closed, putting up to 1,100 jobs at risk.
The Planning Inspectorate had raised specific concerns about disruption to the "relative tranquillity" of the Chilterns National Landscape, an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Under the expansion plan, a plane would fly over the area up to once every 15 minutes, compared with once every half an hour currently.
Wigmore Park, which adjoins the airport, would be destroyed as part of the plan, though the airport proposes creating "replacement open space" that is "at least 10 per cent bigger."
Jenny Bates from Friends Of The Earth criticised the decision, saying: "It's beggars belief that while the UK has multiple wildfire warnings in place, airport expansion is being given the greenlight."
Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon described the Government's approval as "a welcome development". He said the decision "has the potential to boost the local economy and enhance connectivity across the UK".
However, he criticised Labour, saying they "still do not understand that backing projects that will take years to complete will not mitigate against the impacts of their punishing jobs tax."
He claimed this tax would "devastate the economy, kill jobs and make every working household £3,500 worse off".
Luton was the UK's fifth busiest airport last year, with 16.9 million passengers travelling on 132,000 flights. The airport claims to have majority local support for the expansion plan, which is now "ready to go".
Find Out More...