Gatwick gets watchdog approval to add 50,000 flights on new runway

May 01 2020, 12.01amIn a written judgment, the watchdog said that there would be no change to the design of flight paths in or out of the West Sussex airport as a direct result of the new runway, adding: “The environmental impact relating to this proposal is assessed as nil.”

The move effectively allows Gatwick to push ahead with a development consent order — a planning application for a major infrastructure project.

Gatwick — the busiest single-runway airport in the world — had been expected to proceed with the application in the first half of this year but has put it on hold because of the pandemic.

The airport has been hit hard by the outbreak, with the number of flights down by more than 98 per cent last week compared with a year earlier. Last week, British Airways said that it could pull out of Gatwick altogether while Virgin Atlantic announced a similar plan yesterday as it revealed proposals to make a third of staff redundant.

However, Gatwick said that the second runway still formed part of its long-term recovery from the crisis, with an application for a development consent order expected to be made in the second half of this year or in 2021.

Gatwick’s existing second runway is only used in emergencies. Under rules set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the centreline of parallel runways must be at least 210 metres apart. The gap between Gatwick’s main and standby runway is 198 metres.

Under its plan, it would shift the runway 12m to the north. New taxiways to and from the runways and additional stands would also be created. The new runway would be used only for take-off by short-haul planes, with all landings still taking place on the main tarmac.

Any demand to redraw airspace around Gatwick would have required an extensive review process. However, the CAA was satisfied that planes departing from the new runway will join existing flight paths soon after take-off, making little change to the airport’s noise footprint.

The CAA is clear that its decision does not constitute the green light to the second runway, which still has to undergo a major planning process.

The report added: “This proposal is one element which facilitates a potential move towards dual runway operations being a possibility in the future; it does not authorise them.”

In a statement, Gatwick said: “Gatwick welcomes the CAA’s decision relating to the level of airspace change required in relation to our proposed plans to bring our existing northern runway into routine use. We will continue to work on preparing a planning application, known as a development consent order, which will be the subject of full public consultation at a later date.”

Gatwick lost out on the chance to build a new runway four years ago when the government opted to approve the expansion of Heathrow.

However, in February the Court of Appeal overruled the government’s decision following claims that it failed to take account of Britain’s climate change commitments.

Gatwick insisted that the ruling had no bearing on its own plans to bring the emergency runway into operational use.
/QUOTE]