TERMINAL 5 has finally been approved at Heathrow Airport, paving the way for an extra 25 million passengers a year.

The decision, which comes as a massive blow to anti-T5 campaigners such as HACAN, was announced by Transport Secretary Stephen Byers on Tuesday, eight years after the British Airports Authority (BAA) first sought planning permission.

It means Heathrow's status as the world's leading airport can be preserved in the face of increased competition from other European destinations, even though restrictions such as limits on the number of night flights and on daily aircraft movements have been imposed in a bid to appease objectors.

In announcing the go-ahead to a packed House of Commons, Mr Byers stated that the £2.25 billion expansion will secure the future of Heathrow as the world's leading airport and the economic prosperity of London.

He said: "London's success as a world city and financial centre would be threatened if Heathrow were not allowed to stay competitive. As well as ensuring Heathrow's success, Terminal Five would make a major contribution to the national economy."

The T5 announcement marks the end of the longest running planning inquiry in British history. It has cost an estimated £80 million in lawyers' and other fees.

Seven hundred people gave evidence and 27,000 letters were received, resulting in a 600-page report on the scheme.

BAA maintains that the new terminal is essential to cater for rising passenger numbers each year, even though demand for air travel has collapsed by 25 per cent since the events of September 11.

It also highlighted that the development, to be built on an old sewage works to the west of the airport, would create or safeguard 16,500 jobs, as well as an additional 6,000 construction jobs, and will significantly boost London's economy.

Bosses have also pledged that there will only be an eight per cent increase in flights, even though passenger numbers will rise by 60 per cent to over 90 million a year, and maintain that aircraft will be bigger and quieter.

But campaigners have pointed to similar promises that were broken soon after the go-ahead for Terminal 4 and point out that an estimation by BAA at the start of the inquiry that by 2013 there would be 453,000 flights a year has already been reached.

The decision means that the new terminal, which will be served by an extended Heathrow Express and Piccadilly line, will now open in 2007 with an additional satellite building to follow by 2012.

Mr Byers insisted that improvements to transport links had to be in place before the terminal opened for business.

By.Rob Carnevale