Luton Airport Expansion Wins Final Court Battle, Leaving Climate Law Question Open

The UK Supreme Court refused environmental campaigners permission to appeal London Luton Airport’s expansion, clearing the last legal hurdle for one of the country’s biggest aviation infrastructure projects. The decision also became the first definitive test of a rule that compresses deadlines for legal challenges to nationally significant infrastructure decisions to just seven days. On the same day, courts dismissed a separate challenge to Gatwick Airport’s second runway. With the ruling, Luton Airport owner Luton Rising—wholly owned by Luton Borough Council—can expand capacity from 19 million passengers a year to 32 million by the mid-2040s. However, the court did not resolve whether environmental impact assessments must include greenhouse-gas emissions from inbound flights.