The government has granted consent for Luton Airport to drastically increase its passenger capacity after it overruled the Planning Inspectorate, which had originally blocked the proposal on environmental grounds.
The airport will now be able to raise its current permitted cap of 19 million passengers per year to 32 million by adding additional terminal capacity, taxiways and other transport infrastructure.
The Planning Inspectorate said that although noise, traffic and greenhouse gas emissions would increase due to the expansion, these negatives were “outweighed” by the potential to boost local jobs and London’s capacity to accept more air passengers.
Luton Rising, the Luton Borough Council company that owns the airport and associated assets, said the expansion would deliver up to 11,000 new jobs, additional annual economic activity of up to £1.5bn and up to £13m every year for the local community.
Company chair Paul Kehoe said: “By introducing maximum limits for the airport’s noise, operational...
