Atlanta City Council has given the green light for a study to determine the viability of a second commercial airport, or potentially a sixth runway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta InternationalAirport.

Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport, serves about 90 million passengers each year and more than 56,000 people are employed through jobs directly connected to the airport. In February this year the airport handled 48,500 tonnes of cargo. The airport is expected to reach capacity by about 2015 and Delta Air Lines and AirTran Airways, its biggest customers, have already said they favour a sixth runway and have called for land to be preserved in the air cargo zone.