By Sarah George

Copyright edie

The Airport will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for certain departures – predominantly short-haul flights. It is expected that the project will be completed in 2029.

Gatwick currently handles around 280,000 flights a year. It says the expansion plans will enable that number to rise by around 40,000 initially, increasing to 100,000 by the late 2030s.

This could increase passenger numbers from around 40 million at present to 80 million.

The Department for Transport (DfT) stated in February that it was ‘minded to approve’ the plans, but would not take a final decision until the Airport’s operators produced more detailed environmental impact assessments.

The Department also sought additional stakeholder input on provisions to manage noise pollution and improve public transport access to the airport, among other issues.

Planning inspectors had previously recommended that the Government take these precautions.

Local opposition has been fierce. The issues of air pollution, noise pollution, traffic impacts and climate impacts have been raised by multiple impacted local authorities including Kent County Council and Mid Sussex District Council, the latter of which has described its concerns as “grave”.

Growth vs green?

A DfT spokesperson 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.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski immediately criticised the decision. He said: “Labour keeps wheeling out the same nonsense about growth, but at what cost? What this really means is more pollution, more noise for local communities, and no real economic benefit.”

He also said the decision “ignores basic climate science”.

The CCC subsequently stated that, if low-carbon aviation technology deployment is slower than expected, more demand management will be necessary in the 2040s, which will be harder to deliver if airports have already expanded.

It reiterated that demand management is crucial in the 2020s and early 2030s, as the supply of alternative fuels and engineered carbon removals remain limited.