Gatwick Airport's £2.2Bn Expansion to Proceed After Appeal Fails

The £2.2bn project, approved by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in September, will enable about 100,000 more flights annually at Britain's second-busiest airport. Chief executive Pierre-Hugues Schmit said the ruling ends an eight-year planning and legal process that scrutinised the expansion plans. The scheme involves repositioning the emergency runway for routine short-haul use, with operations targeted as early as 2030. Alexander said the move would give holidaymakers more choice and strengthen global links, while the government is investing over £219m in green fuel production.

Campaigner Peter Barclay of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign expressed disappointment, arguing expansion locks in climate, noise, and pollution impacts. Separately, Luton Rising confirmed all legal hurdles to Luton airport's expansion are cleared, with plans to raise capacity from 19 million to 32 million passengers by the mid-2040s, creating up to 11,000 jobs and £1.5bn in annual economic activity.