The U.K. government gave its provisional backing Thursday to the creation of a second runway at Gatwick Airport outside London if certain improvements were met, including on noise reduction — a move that has been met with incredulity from environmental campaigners.

Gatwick is the UK's second busiest airport and one of the busiest single-runway airports in the world. It is understood that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has “set out a path to approving” Gatwi

Britain is set to approve the expansion of Gatwick Airport, the government's transport minister said on Thursday, after she issued a "minded to approve" letter but said the deadline for a final decision would be extended to Oct.

The UK gave its tentative backing to a plan to expand London’s Gatwick airport, as the Labour government insisted it can push ahead with major infrastructure projects while still meeting its environmental commitments.

Gatwick's plans involve bringing its emergency runway into routine use, enabling it to massively increase capacity.

Airport bosses say the upgraded emergency runway project could start this year if approved and be operational by the end of the decade

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) said: "We welcome the extension by the secretary of state until October as she

London Gatwick Airport expansion is expected to get a green light today which would boost its capacity by 30 million more passengers a year. The UK’s second-biggest airport is expected to welcome a decision from the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander this morning to bring its emergency runway into permanent use.

A decision is due today on the future of Gatwick’s expansion plans. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has a deadline until the end of today to decide whether to approve plans to bring Gatwick’s emergency runway into routine use.