Expansion is finally happening (probably). It should not have taken so long to get to this point

Just when you feared indecision was final over expansion at Gatwick airport, here comes an actual piece of policy-making: Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has given a thumbs-up to a second runway. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, followed up by landing an Airbus A320 in a flight simulator.

- Nils Pratley

Assuming legal challenges are overcome, it is possible the new runway will be operational by 2030. Give thanks that the holding pattern is finally over. Few proposed infrastructure projects capture the UK’s inability to get on with the job quite like Gatwick. The airport has been arguing for expansion for more than a decade on the grounds that it is approaching full capacity, and the spadework is easy to do because it merely involves shifting an emergency runway 12 metres to the north to allow it to be used as part of normal operations.