UK: Calls to delay airport expansion over concerns

A council has called for expansion plans at London Stansted Airport to be delayed over concerns about air quality and noise levels. The owner of the Essex terminal is expected to submit fresh proposals in order to increase passenger capacity to a limit of 51m people per annum. But Hertfordshire County Council, which governs an area bordering the airport, called for a pause on the project in its official response to a consultation. Conservative cabinet member Stephen Boulton said: "Ploughing ahead to the detriment of local people would be unwise and a mistake." In 2023, the government's Planning Inspectorate approved the airport's proposal for a GBP600m project, which would include a bigger departure lounge, security hall and an extension to the terminal building. This would increase its passenger capacity to 43m - up from 35m. About 29.3m took flight from Stansted in the year to September. Funding for Stansted's initial expansion was approved in October 2024, as part of GBP1.1b in government investment which would see it become the UK's second biggest airport defined by passenger numbers. As part of the airport's latest Sustainable Development Plan, it further wants to increase the passenger capacity to 51m.<br/>