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UK Approves Gatwick’s £2.2bn Second Runway Plan

Community and environmental groups prepare legal challenges to the decision.

Overview

  • Gatwick won consent to shift its standby northern runway 12 metres north and use it routinely for narrow‑body departures, alongside new taxiways, terminal extensions and gates.
  • The airport and ministers project roughly 100,000 additional flights a year, with operations targeted by 2030 and possibly before the next general election in 2029.
  • Approval is tied to mitigation and compensation measures, including noise insulation such as triple glazing and help with moving costs for homeowners under new flight paths.
  • Public‑transport mode‑share goals will be set by Gatwick rather than imposed as legally binding targets, after the Planning Inspectorate’s earlier rejection shifted to a conditional recommendation.
  • The Labour government touts jobs and growth benefits—Gatwick cites up to 14,000 jobs and £1bn a year—while opponents plan a judicial review and Sadiq Khan argues the move weakens the case for a third Heathrow runway.