MANCHESTER Airport bosses say it needs to expand so the North-west's economic wealth can improve.
They told a Commons Transport Select Committee yesterday that stopping the airport from expanding would hamper the region's development.
The committee is investigating how big airports should be to meet passenger and freight forecasts for 2030.
The Government will publish a white paper on the issue next year.
Geoff Muirhead, chief executive of the Manchester Airports Group, said: "A key objective of Government policy should be to restore the UK's world-leading role in aviation.
"This can only be achieved by enabling the air industry to grow by allowing sufficient airport infrastructure to be built."
MAG is the UK's second largest airport operator.
It owns and operates Manchester, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside airports and handles more than 23 million passengers a year.
The select committee's inquiry started in November last year and will continue until April.
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