The five-month public inquiry into Stansted's planning application to grow the airport to 35 million passengers a year, ends today. 

In an upbeat and comprehensive summary of the case Stansted has presented to the planning inspector, BAA's legal team highlighted the conclusive evidence given of the substantial economic and social benefits to be had if the proposed development is given the go-ahead. This includes the estimated 3,800 additional jobs that would be created and the tens of millions of pounds that would be generated  into the local economy.

Special attention has been paid to the environmental consequences of increasing passenger numbers at the airport, and top UK QC Michael Humphries, BAA's leading counsel drew attention to the extensive range of measures proposed by BAA to control, manage and minimise the predicted impacts on the local environment.

Nick Barton, Stansted’s business development & planning director, said:

"This inquiry has examined in close detail the evidence we have presented to support the case for expansion.  We now await the outcome of the Inspector’s report and the decision of the government, but we remain very confident of the strong and compelling case we have made.

"While we are not in the business of pre-judging the outcome of the independent inquiry, we know that success would bring benefits to those many millions of people who want to travel around the world on business and leisure trips.  What is more, in the past five months we have demonstrated very clearly we can deliver that success in a sustainable and responsible way."

Notes to editors

• This planning application relates to growth on Stansted’s existing single runway at Stansted - it has no connection to the proposals for a second runway at the airport
• Stansted Airport has a number of planning condition limits, imposed in 2003 by Uttlesford District Council (UDC), which restrict the passengers numbers to 25 million passengers per annum (mppa) and the number of air transport movements (ATMs) to 241,000 per year.
• The planning application is seeking permission to remove the cap on passenger numbers (Stansted is the only UK airport capped in this manner) and to increase the limit on ATMs to 264,000 a year.
• It is not asking permission for any additional physical developments or facilities that do not currently have planning approval; nor is it seeking any modification to current night flight restrictions.
• Stansted is the UK’s third busiest airport serving over 23.9 million passengers a year. It is expected the current permitted limit of 25 mppa will be reached in 2008
• For full information on Stansted Airport expansion plans visit: www.stanstedairport.com/future
• BAA's closing submissions and supporting appendices can also be downloaded from the website.