The boss of Gatwick airport today said he was “optimistic” about being given the all clear to create a full-scale second runway by the Government by February.
He was speaking as a planning inspectorate examination of Gatwick’s £2.2billion Northern Runway proposals enters its final days before concluding on Tuesday. The panel of inspectors are due to give their formal recommendation to the Government by late November with a decision from ministers expected within three months of that — more than eight years after the runway was first proposed.
Gatwick’s CEO Stewart Wingate told the Standard: “We are certainly optimistic because we are very confident of what we have put forward, it’s a very strong proposal fully privately financed that is ready to be delivered. We can get spades in the ground very quickly to deliver the project with all the benefit it would bring for London and the South-East.
“The proposal is in line with the policy of successive governments of maximising the use of existing facilities, so we have every reason to be optimistic. It has been eight years of considerable effort on behalf of the team so we are fully committed to getting a positive decision on this.”
The plan would bring Gatwick’s capacity up to about 75 million passengers a year by the end of the 2030s. The Northern Runway, currently known as the “emergency runway”, would be used mainly for takeoffs by smaller short-haul jets with all landings still in the main runway.
Construction would start next year with the Northern Runway fully operational by the end of the decade. Gatwick has said all construction would be within the existing airport boundary.
Wingate’s comments came days after London City Airport was granted permission to increase the number of passengers it handles from 6.5 million to nine million a year.
Heathrow is officially still “reviewing” its plans for a third runway but its boss Thomas Woldbye has spoken of how the expansion is still “very much part of the strategy”, as passenger numbers exceed pre-Covid levels and push up against the hub’s capacity.
Two other London airports, Stansted and Luton, have also revealed plans to expand their facilities to cope with future passenger growth.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Labour has “nothing against expanding airport capacity” as it would help deliver on the party’s commitment to growing the economy. However, that stance would face internal opposition likely to be led by Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband.
Gatwick said it has enjoyed a strong first half to the year with the number of passengers up 7.7% at 19.9 million. The number of short-haul passengers was ahead of 2019 levels in July.
Revenue at £488 million was up 15.3% compared with 2023 and included £239 million of aeronautical income and £249 million from non-aeronautical sources, such as retail and parking.
EBITDA was at £268 million, up 13.9% compared with 2023, while net profit for the period, at £106 million, was up 33.8%.
Wingate said: “With the growing demand for travel, we are experiencing one of our busiest summers yet. Thanks to robust planning and closecollaboration with our partners we’ve had a strong start to 2024, ensuring areliable and enjoyable experience for our passengers.
“I am delighted that we have once again achieved good service levels, as evidenced by meeting 100% of our service measures.”
