What is the nuance of using という here?

Japanese
#1

I sometimes see the usage of という that I can’t really grasp the meaning of.

If I remove という from the second sentence, the meaning won’t change at all:

成田空港によると、外国の航空会社がもっと飛行機を多くしたいと言っています。増やしたいという飛行機の数は1週間に152です。

Is there a reason to use it that I’m not aware of?

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#2

I believe という can be used in this case to (re)emphasise who the information about the number is coming from (外国の航空会社 reported through 成田空港)

Edit:
It also looks like it’s used to describe the noun further. It specifies the content of what the foreign airlines are saying they want to increase

#3

I would translate this as “The amount they say they want to increase planes (flights) by is of 152 a week.” In this sense という is just to emphasize what they’re saying. At least that’s how I’m understanding it, though I could be wrong about that.

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#4

It’s rude and even strange in Japanese to say～たい (to want) directly about other people’s desires. That’s why there are constructions like たがる (seem to want).

There are many ways to avoid directly assuming たい of someone else, such as: ～たいだろう（と思う）、～たいみたい、～たそうだ etc.

Here, they are avoiding directly using ～たい about Narita Airport('s representatives) by informing that they say they want, whereas if they omitted という, they would be directly assuming what they want, which is just not a thing that happens in Japanese as far as I can tell.

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#5

That’s a good point, thank you!

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