Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has approved Gatwick Airport's £2.2 billion second runway plan.
The privately-financed project will move the West Sussex airport's emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling departures of narrow-bodied aircraft including Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.
The development will allow approximately 100,000 additional flights annually.
A government source indicated Alexander backed the scheme as a "no-brainer" for economic growth, with flights potentially taking off from the new full runway before 2029.
Gatwick says the expansion will generate £1 billion per year in economic benefits and create an additional 14,000 jobs.
Local campaigners opposed to expansion are concerned about the impact on surface transport, noise, housing provision and wastewater treatment, but the airport insists it has conducted “full and thorough assessments” of those issues.
A Government source told the PA news agency: “Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski described ministers’ support of a second Gatwick runway as a “disaster”.
He said in a statement: “It ignores basic climate science and risks undermining efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
“Labour keeps wheeling out the same nonsense about growth, but at what cost? What this really means is more pollution, more noise for local communities, and no real economic benefit.”
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
