Seriously Shed? Gatwick is not a serious option you seem focused on low cost services and ignore the huge intercontinental market that is going to other European airports.
The largest growth sector affecting demand for air travel from the SE catchment is leisure and no-frills. That's a fact, however off-message that may be. New long-haul requires a fraction of the slots needed to accommodate this. So LGW is perfectly suited to soak up that incremental business, and at a fraction of the cost cited for the LHR R3 proposals. London already copes just fine with its existing huge intercontinental market, but that sector is not where the serious growth in demand is coming from.
Are your professional experts the same as those professional experts that predicted immediate armageddon after Brexit?
We could make cynical comments such as this about all experts contributing to both sides of the debate. We will only know who got it right with the benefit of hindsight.
If an extra runway is approved then it will not be Gatwick.
So you're a prophet? Can you share next week's winning lottery numbers with us whilst you're on a roll? :-)