Belfast City Airport wants to extend the north east end of the runway Environment Minister Edwin Poots has announced he will lift the cap on on passenger numbers at George Best Belfast City Airport.
On Monday Mr Poots said he had made the decision after careful consideration.
Under the previous rule no more than two million seats could be sold from the airport in a year.
The restriction capping the total air traffic movements at 48,000 per year remains in place.
This covers both scheduled and non-scheduled air traffic movements.
Proposals to lift the passenger cap were discussed at Stormont in October and the Environment Committee heard from residents’ groups and airport officials.
Some residents groups including the Belfast City Airport Watch Steering Group, have been opposed to any further expansion.
In June, the environment minister launched a consultation on the effect of removing the limit on passenger numbers.
A public inquiry into the proposed runway extension at George Best Belfast City Airport was delayed in August amid a dispute over a noise pollution report submitted by the airport.
The airport wants to extend the north east end of the runway by 590m while retracting 120m from the south west.
A statement from the airport said this could create 100 jobs and £120m in tourism revenue.
However, residents are opposed to the extension, fearing it will lead to bigger and noisier planes using the runway.
There have been 1,486 letters of objection and petitions with 499 names and 2,241 letters of support sent to the authorities over the scheme.
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