 The airport wants major expansion by the end of the next decade |
Managers at East Midlands Airport say approval for a second runway would mean hundreds of new jobs for the region. The government is considering a number of options for airport expansion across the country ahead of a predicted three-fold rise in air travel by 2030.
One proposal is to build a new airport at Rugby, but that suggestion has provoked opposition across the south of Leicestershire and other parts of the Midlands.
Thousands took part in a protest march in Rugby in June.
An East Midlands Airport spokesman says a second runway would mean far less environmental impact than expanding elsewhere in the region.
Gridlock claim
The airport also estimates a second runway would create 42,000 new jobs.
But environmentalists are worried that communities near the airport would be damaged by airport expansion.
Some members of Kegworth Parish Council in Leicestershire say the expansion will mean more night flights and increased noise.
Councillor Noel McGough who lives in nearby Diseworth says an expansion would cause gridlock in roads in the area.
But airport managing director Graham Keddie says: "We think the expansion is a necessity - and we hope it will happen towards the end of the next decade."
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