Turbulence for Luton as court decides if expansion project can leave the ground
The Court of Appeal will today hear a challenge to the government-approved expansion of Luton Airport from an environmental group over whether the development should have been green-lit last year.
The dispute was escalated to the appeals court by the campaign group, Luton And District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN), who brought the case, after it was dismissed by the High Court on all grounds in December 2025.
The group is arguing that the High Court in it’s decision did not properly assess the environmental impact of the expansion, particularly in relation to pollution caused by inbound flights.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander granted consent for a new airport terminal to be built last April which would see the airport’s passenger capacity increased by almost double from 18 million to 32 million per year.
The construction would involve building a second terminal, extending the existing terminal, and creating new taxiways – paths to be used by aircraft to move between runways.
Following a six-month examination of the expansion project in August 2023, the Planning Inspectorate recommended refusing the expansion as environmental issues including noise, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate impact outweighed the benefits.
However, the transport secretary dismissed this and approved the expansion to prioritise economic growth for Luton and the UK more widely.
Andrew Lambourne, chair of LADACAN, said if the court does not approve the group’s appeal, it “would legally authorise the systematic omission of up to five-sixths of the actual climate impact of airport expansion from environmental assessments – and not just at Luton”.
Expansion projects up in the air
Alongside Luton, the government has also approved a number of other major expansion plans for other UK airports.
In September last year, Gatwick Airport was granted consent to bring its existing Northern runway into full use to up passenger capacity by approximately 13 to 18 million per year.
But the £2.2bn project was challenged in court by an environmental group opposing the decision.
Heathrow Airport is also aiming for a structural upgrade, with plans for a £50m project to boost the airport’s flight capacity to nearly 760,000 a year and accommodate 150 million passengers.
However, last week the UK’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched a consultation which could pave the way for companies rivalling Heathrow to build the third runway and new terminal tabled in the expansion plans.
The Luton appeal is set to be heard today and tomorrow.