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.

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.

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

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.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said that while she is ‘minded to approve’ plans to expand capacity at Gatwick Airport, a final decision will not be taken until the Airport has addressed environmental impact concerns in more detail.

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

Gatwick has until 24 April to respond to demands for it to include measures, such as noise mitigation and having a proportion of passengers travelling to the airport via public transport, in its overall plans before a final decision will be made in October.

Britain is inclined to approve the expansion of its second largest airport Gatwick, the government said on Thursday, over objections from environmentalists and during a push on infrastructure to drive economic growth.

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.