Gatwick's Second Runway

[valfire]

No, I am not writing about the latest proposed runway to the south of the existing one.

In 1969 I worked at BUA and saw a booklet that had been given to employees when they moved from Croydon Airport to Gatwick. This included a map of Gatwick and showed a proposed North East/South West runway, starting at the 08 end, heading towards Horley.

This obviously never went ahead, but I wonder if anyone has a copy of this booklet, or anything else showing this runway. Or am I really dreaming?

[chevvron]

Never saw the booklet but I remember the diagram. It was effectively 'killed' by the construction of North terminal.

[Talkdownman]

I was at Gatters in '69 and remember a proposal diagram but I recall it as a 09L/27R parallel through Povey Cross.

[Sir George Cayley]

Gatwick has a second runway 08L/26R. It's was called the emergency runway, the northern runway and other words to soothe local pressure groups. There's a parallel taxiway between the two which an aircraft famously used one night.

So if after 2019 Gatport Airwick start digging it will be their 3rd runway!

Just think, if LGW was KLGW the US ATC would be firing Flybe 400s off the northern runway in between landers and a taking offers all day long.

SGC

[DaveReidUK]

It's was called the emergency runway, the northern runway and other words to soothe local pressure groups.

So what would it have been called otherwise ?

There's a parallel taxiway between the two which an aircraft famously used one night.

No, the parallel taxiway (on which at least two aircraft have landed) is north of the northern runway.

[topoverhaul]

Indeed under FAA rules, both runways would be fully employed. With RNAV approaches, 26R is not a problem for landers up to 747 size, and certainly ideal for smaller size departers.
Why they would want to build a further runway defeats me!

[Groundloop]

Indeed under FAA rules, both runways would be fully employed. With RNAV approaches, 26R is not a problem for landers up to 747 size, and certainly ideal for smaller size departers.
Why they would want to build a further runway defeats me!

Because FAA rules do not apply in Europe so parallel operations would not be allowed.

[Capot]

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.