[Reason077]

> "What you're arguing is the classic of the trolley dilemma [1], the individual vs the many. Should you harm 1 person to save 1 million."

Of course if that's genuinely the situation, it's hard to argue that the needs of the many shouldn't be paramount. But in the case of airport expansion, it's rarely that simple!

A bigger airport isn't necessarily a public good. If it's close to urban areas it's often a net detriment to the public good, inflicting more noise and pollution on millions of people. The drive to expand really comes from the airport operator's desire to increase flight numbers and profits.