Second airport approved for Sydney, Australia

Australian officials have approved construction of a second airport in its capital city, Sydney, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The airport is intended to alleviate traffic at Sydney’s existing Kingsford-Smith Airport and boost the city’s economy by creating jobs, according to the report.

Kingsford-Smith Airport is currently the 31st busiest airport in the world, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

{mosads}Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he hoped to get started quickly on construction of the new airport in his nation’s capital, the paper reported.

“We want to get cracking on this,” Abbott said. “This is a decision that has been shirked for too long.”

The decision to approve the second Sydney airport was cheered by Australian airline Qantas Airlines.

“The role of second airports has been well established in several of the world’s major capitals,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce told the paper. “Sydney is the key gateway for air traffic in and out of Australia.”