Gatwick's 2nd runway is now known as "Redhill".
If that solution had not been kicked into touch by vested interests (aka BAA) in 2003 it would by now be built and operating as a regional flight hub, without a penny of public money being taken to build it, and freeing up 90,000 or so slots at LGW and LHR for long-haul services, perhaps many more.
It's not too late. However, I very much doubt that the UK actually has the capability to take - and implement - any decision at all about airport capacity in the South East.
There was never a plausible ATM case against the proposal; both NATS (under BAA orders) and BAA tripped over themselves declaring that "a 2nd parallel runway is out of the question" for ATM reasons, while busily promoting - errr - a second parallel runway at LGW.
Last edited by Capot; 24th Sep 2012 at 16:17.