Transport secretary Geoff Hoon has backed an expansion of Stansted airport.
It is Mr Hoon's first move since Gordon Brown's Cabinet reshuffle moved him over to the Department for Transport.
The decision, which will increase the number of flights from 241 to 264, is sure to provoke anger from environmental campaigners.
The Liberal Democrats expressed anger at the move, with transport spokesman Norman Baker saying the government was "in the pocket" of the aviation industry.
"This is particularly bad news for people living near Stansted, who seemingly do not count in the government's reckoning," he said.
"This is the first major decision by Geoff Hoon as transport secretary and it clearly shows that he is no friend of the environment."
The Conservatives said they would oppose the plans at their party conference last month.
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