Operator London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL) said up to 5, 100 jobs would be created by the expansion, which would be carried out within the airport's currentboundary and using its existing runway.
In addition to a sea floor mapping project, the researchers will make chemical analyses of water samples that will help them determine the temperature, salinity and composition of a strong circumpolar current that flows around the boundary of the Arctic Ocean.