Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has approved plans for a second runway at London Gatwick Airport, as the government looks for economic growth opportunities.
The £2.2bn privately-financed project involves moving the current Northern Runway 12 metres to bring it into regular use, as well as other developments, including extending the size of terminals.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the plans would create “thousands of jobs and billions in investment” and added that the second Gatwick runway was part of the government’s plan to “get Britain building again”.
Gatwick currently handles about 280,000 flights a year. It says the plan would allow that number to rise to around 389,000 by the late 2030s, and is also committed to becoming net zero for its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
London Gatwick, in West Sussex, is Europe’s busiest single-runway airport with more than 40 million passengers using it every year.
The plans approved by Alexander would include adding 40,000 more flights before the second runway opens, and 70,000 more – almost 190 a day – once it is fully up and running. The airport says that passenger numbers could rise to up to 80 million.
At the moment the Northern Runway is only used for taxiing or as a back-up. The second runway would be used for short-haul flights, with capacity also freed up for more long-haul services from the main runway.
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden welcomed the decision as “a vital step towards driving economic growth”.
