Campaigners in Rugby villages near the Baginton site won the last court battle when the Government ruled that the airport cannot expand due to environmental reasons pushed forward by the residents.

In a complex hearing – scheduled to last for five days – West Midlands International Airport Ltd is challenging the Government's decision to refuse planning permission for what it says is a 'modest' expansion of passenger operations at Coventry Airport.

The Airport is asking one of the country's senior judges, Mr. Justice Forbes, to quash the decision, taken last April by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Ruth Kelly, and to order her to reconsider its application for a new passenger terminal intended to handle up to two million passengers per year.

Their counsel, Peter Village QC, told the High Court that the inspector's report on which the Government's decision was based was 'riddled with very manifest errors' and was 'characterised by repeated and countless failures to deal properly or at all with the extensive evidence heard at the public inquiry'.

He argued that key errors were made in respect of the evidence on noise and air pollution, and that both the inspector and the Secretary of State erred in failing to take into account the 'significant benefits' of the scheme when considering the overall planning balance.

Overall, he claimed the decision not to grant planning permission for the terminal for up to two million passengers per year was 'perverse'.

As the judge is certain to reserve his decision after the hearing in order to give careful consideration to his verdict before delivering a written judgment, it is likely to be late this year before a ruling is made in the case. The hearing continues.