Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander told MPs the government was committed to a third, short runway at Heathrow airport and a new runway at Stansted.
The "progress report" on the 2003 Aviation White Paper has angered environmentalists, who want a curb on flights and expansion.
The Tories said Labour's air policy clashed with its climate change stance.
Campaign group HACAN ClearSkies said it would continue to fight against Heathrow's expansion, with chairman John Stewart saying 700 homes would have to be demolished, while 150,000 more people would be under the flight path for the new runway.
A group formed by seven London boroughs and four authorities outside London, representing two million people living under the flight path, called for a "far-reaching, independent study which includes the full environmental cost of aviation and looks at the impact of spending on flights on the wider economy."
This week, the Office of Fair Trading said it was recommending the Competition Commission hold a full inquiry into airport ownership - a move threatening BAA's ownership of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick airports.
Friends of the Earth's aviation campaigner Richard Dyer said: "The anticipated growth in air travel threatens to destroy government plans to tackle climate change."
