Second runway plan approved for London Gatwick Airport

London Gatwick Airport’s plan to reposition its Northern Runway to allow dual runway operations has been approved by the UK Secretary of State for Transport.

Currently, the Northern Runway is limited to acting as a taxiway and is only available when the Main Runway is out of use. By repositioning the runway 12 metres north, dual runway operations will be possible – aligning with international safety standards. London Gatwick’s plan aims to use the airport’s existing infrastructure to unlock new capacity and improve airport resilience, creating approximately 14,000 new jobs in the South East of England and injecting £1 billion into the region’s economy.

Olivier Jankovec, ACI EUROPE Director General, said: ‘This decision will position the UK at a competitive advantage over the rest of Europe and globally, as it harnesses the power of air connectivity growth to boost the country’s economy and deliver socioeconomic benefits at the local level. With every 10% increase in air connectivity yielding a 0.5% gain in GDP and a 1.6% rise in employment, allowing airports to expand where needed to meet future demand is all about effectively supporting wider economic activity – particularly trade, inward investment, and tourism.

This is both highly relevant and timely, given the current geoeconomic competition we face. We need to develop more airport capacity in Europe to meet the demands of future traffic growth. The UK Government has taken another step in the right direction toward an ambitious growth agenda.’

Find out more in London Gatwick’s press release here.