Gatwick's second runway gets green light from No 10

The £2.2bn plans to expand Gatwick airport look set to go ahead after the government signalled it was supporting the project - a move that could see an additional 100,000 flights accommodated each year at the UK's second-busiest airport.

- BENJAMIN PARKER

The deadline for the government to make a final decision has been extended to late October 2025 but transport secretary Heidi Alexander has “set out a path to approving” Gatwick’s expansion project, said one government source.

In a written parliamentary answer, she said: “Today [27 February 2025] I have issued a ‘minded to approve’ letter for the Gatwick Airport Northern Runway Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Act 2008. The deadline for the final decision is now extended to 27 October 2025 [an extension of 9 months]. The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent for the above application.”

Stewart Wingate, chief executive officer at Gatwick, said he welcomes the news, adding: “It is vital that any planning conditions attached to the final approval enable us to make a decision to invest £2.2bn in this project and realise the full benefits of bringing the northern runway into routine use.”

The Planning Inspectorate initially rejected the West Sussex airport’s application to bring its emergency runway into routine use. The Planning Inspectorate then recommended Ms Alexander give the project the go-ahead if adjustments are made on certain issues, such as the proportion of passengers who travel to and from the airport by public transport, and noise mitigation.

“The transport secretary has set out a path to approving the expansion of Gatwick today following the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation to refuse the original application,” a government source said. “This is an important step forward and demonstrates that this government will stop at nothing to deliver economic growth and new infrastructure as part of our plan for change.