IT SEEMS the sky's the limit for Bournemouth Airport.

Boosted in recent years by the advent of budget airlines, annual passenger figures are already orbiting the one million mark and are set to rocket to three times that number within the next decade.

The dizzying rise and rise of Bournemouth as a major regional airport is a far cry from its origins as a Second World War aerodrome later pressed into short-lived service as the landing stage for trans-Atlantic flights before the emergence of Heathrow.

But the air travel boom at Bournemouth Airport could produce serious repercussions for the surrounding area with more and more traffic clogging the roads, on their way to fill the increasing number of planes on Hurn's runways.

That is where the master plan comes in to balance the economic gains for the area with the environmental needs of the greenbelt and the quality of life for those living underneath an increasingly busy flight path.

Both airport managing director Peter Duffy and planning director Joe Walsh, who has drawn up the far-reaching master plan, are quick to shoot down the nightmare scenario of aircraft circling the runways day and night.

Their blue print for the airport does not include building more or longer runways or extending the passenger flying times into the night.

And they stress the leap in passenger numbers will not be matched by the increase in the number of flights or level of noise and pollution, with advances in aviation technology creating larger, quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft.

But even if passenger flights reach the predicted 100 aircraft a day landing and taking off at Hurn in 2030, it will still be only half the current number of daily private, freight and business air traffic movements.

At the core of the projected growth in passenger numbers is the continuing rise in low fares flights to short haul destinations in Europe, but Mr Duffy says there is also interest from airlines operating services to holiday hot spots further afield and internal UK business travel.

He said: "It is not just about taking people out of the region but bringing people in and putting money into the local economy. This is a great tourist area with the New Forest and Jurassic Coast."

Besides bolstering local businesses, the airport expansion will also create hundreds of new jobs, both at the terminal and indirectly through airlines and their suppliers recruiting extra staff.

As well as expanding the terminal building to accommodate more passengers, the airport is also planning to extend the adjoining long-stay car parks with some 3,500 extra spaces.

Mr Walsh argued this was better for the environment than what he termed kiss and fly' trips where passengers were dropped off and picked up by relatives, effectively making four car journeys for one flight. And parking next to the terminal avoided the need for shuttle buses.