A tourism industry body has said that while a decision on a second airport for Sydney is long overdue, restrictions on operations at Sydney Airport need to be lifted.
The Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) says the current cap of 80 plane movements per hour at Kingsford Smith Airport should be upped to meet demand for air travel.
TTF chief executive Ken Morrison said the cap, which was introduced 20 years ago, is no longer required.
"The number of people flying to and from Sydney is forecast to double over the next 20 years," he said in a statement.
"The current restrictions make it harder than it needs to be for Sydney Airport to manage that demand."
Morrison said while he was in favour of the development of a second airport at Badgerys Creek, he stated that construction is set to be years away and called on the federal government to modernise Sydney Airport in the interim.
“Freeing up capacity at Sydney Airport will help New South Wales and Australia reach the Tourism 2020 goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure by the end of the decade,” he said.
“The number of people flying to and from Sydney is forecast to double over the next twenty years and the current restrictions make it harder than it needs to be for Sydney Airport to manage that demand.”