After months of wrangling over noise concerns and airport transport links, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander signed off a plan for a second runway at Gatwick
Holidaymakers have been given a major boost after plans for a second runway at Gatwick airport were approved.
The plan will mean around 100,000 more flights each year taking off from the West Sussex airport, accommodating up to 80 million passengers. The new runway could be operational as soon as 2029.
After months of wrangling over noise concerns and airport transport links, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander signed off the proposal on Sunday evening.
The airport’s £2.2billion privately-funded project would involve bringing its second “standby” northern runway into full operational use. It comes not after the Government signed off plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport earlier this year.
The Gatwick plan is set to create 14,000 jobs and generate £1bn for the regional economy. It will be almost doubling its current capacity, with Gatwick having welcomed around 43 million passengers last year.
A government source said: “The Transport Secretary has cleared Gatwick expansion for take-off. With capacity constraints holding back business, trade and tourism, this is a no-brainer for growth.
“This Government has taken unprecedented steps to get this done, navigating a needlessly complex planning system, which our reforms will simplify in future.
“It is possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election. Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”
The “Northern Runway” is currently limited to acting as a taxiway and back up when the main runway is out of use. Gatwick put in a planning application to reposition the centre line of the northern runway to allow dual runway operations.
Gatwick bosses had been hopeful for a positive decision after Chancellor Rachel Reeves hinted at government backing for a second runway during a keynote speech on driving economic growth earlier this year.
It follows Ms Reeves backing plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport to make Britain “the world’s best connected place to do business” in January.
Critics have argued that Gatwick airport’s plans fail to address critical issues over noise pollution, air quality, additional roads, and additional strain on local services.
Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions, responding to reports earlier this year that the government was set to approve of a new runway, said: “It is disgraceful of this government to ignore public opinion and all the facts that this is a new runway and not compliant to the policy being used by the airport to achieve a new runway by stealth.
“The Airport Commission found that there was only the need for one runway in the SouthEast and it was not at Gatwick Airport.”