London Luton Airport plans to nearly double its annual passenger capacity to 32 million by 2043 after receiving approval for expansion from the government.
This decision comes despite a recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate to reject the expansion due to concerns about the environmental impact.
As per multiple outlets, the airport's owners, Luton Rising argue that the expansion will bring significant benefits to the local economy, job market and society.
London Luton Airport ranked as the fifth busiest airport in the UK last year, serving 16.9 million passengers and operating 132,000 flights.
The expansion plans include constructing a new terminal, adding new taxiways and increasing the capacity of the existing terminal to handle more passengers, raising its current capacity of 18 million passengers per year.
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The goal is to accommodate a higher volume of travellers in the future.
A government source said in a statement, "Expansion will deliver huge growth benefits for Luton with thousands of good, new jobs and a cash boost for the local council which owns the airport.
"This is the 14th Development Consent Order approved by this Labour government, demonstrating we will stop at nothing to deliver economic growth and new infrastructure as part of our plan for change," the statement added.
The decision to approve the expansion of London Luton Airport was postponed three times.
The most recent delay was to give the newly appointed Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, more time to review and consider the application for the expansion.
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