Airport expansion gets go-ahead

Stansted Airport in Essex, UK has been given the green light to expand.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon made the announcement in a written statement to Parliament. Permission to expand the site was orginally refused in 2006, on grounds of noise and environmental concerns, but a public enquiry was held, in which airport owners BAA said it would put measures in place to control, manage and minimise predicted impacts on the local environment.

BAA wants to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million a year, and up the number of flights leaving the airport from 241,000 to 264,000 a year. Unions say the move will bring more jobs, but objectors still feel the expansion will decrease their quality of life.