A step closer to Gatwick second runway?

GATWICK CURRENTLY handles about 280,000 flights a year. The plan is expected to allow that number to rise to around 389,000 by the late 2030s.

Logistics UK supported the announcement. Senior policy manager Alexandra Herdman says: “Gatwick is currently the busiest single runway airport in Europe and modifying the existing standby runway to develop a fully operational second runway, is a practical and efficient way to increase capacity.

“Almost two thirds of the UK’s air cargo moves in passenger aircraft, sitting underneath seats in the bellyhold, and can make the difference between a profitable and a non-profitable route for a passenger airline. This type of freight also tends to be high-value, time-sensitive goods such as manufacturing components and pharmaceuticals so is essential to keep the UK trading and supply chains moving.”

The British International Freight Association also welcomed the news, but BIFA notes that the project could be delayed if the Gatwick scheme is subject to a judicial review.

Steve Parker, BIFA director general said: “The airport has become an increasingly important hub for air cargo and volumes are expected to climb sharply once the second runway is operational.

“Hopefully, the additional runway capacity will strengthen the airport’s position as a critical gateway for time-sensitive goods that move via aircraft.”

Responding to the news, Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski, said “Signing off on a second runway at Gatwick is a disaster. It ignores basic climate science and risks undermining efforts to tackle the climate crisis. 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. Expanding Gatwick is a tired, 20th-century answer to a 21st-century crisis. Labour’s obsession with ‘growth at all costs’ is driving us deeper into a climate breakdown and social inequality crisis.”