The airport expansion would allow larger planes to operate

The airport's owners want to be able to handle jet aircraft and increase the number of passengers they carry to two million every year.

The RSPB says the planned expansion is "crazy" because of the effect on birds and wildlife at nearby Dungeness.

An airport spokesman said the possible impact is being "exaggerated".

The expansion has already been criticised by the Lydd Airport Action Group.

Now the RSPB is concerned about the possibility of bird strike - where birds and aircraft collide - if the expansion goes ahead.

Open space

Zak Deir, managing director at Lydd Airport, said: "We don't think it's going to be a problem because normally bird strikes happen, if they do happen, at low altitudes not at high altitudes.

"If we are to operate jets out of Lydd, the jets will clear 1,000 or 2,000 feet much faster than the light aircraft which are operating at this time."

The RSPB's Paul Outhwaite also commented: "The sort of expansion they're talking about is bound to damage another of Kent's really important open spaces and last wild spaces, and we just thinks it's crazy to even consider it."

Environmental studies and a traffic survey assessment are being carried out.