London Gatwick just submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the UK’s Planning Inspectorate (PINS) to make its Northern Runway routinely operational alongside the main runway. In the proposal, the airport management stated that plan would enhance its already-crucial economic role in the region by creating approximately 14,000 new jobs and injecting £1 billion into its economy annually.
Commenting on the submission of the DCO, Stewart Wingate, chief executive officer said: “If approved, our plan will (also) improve airport resilience, meet future passenger demand, and increase competition in the London airport market. The DCO results from two years of work aiming to secure the airport’s long-term future and the economic prosperity of thousands of families, businesses, and future generations across the region.”
With the recovery in passenger traffic post pandemic, the use of the Northern runway is airport’s strategy to increase the airport’s capacity to meet the growing demand. The new runway would add about 3,000 jobs at the airport, 2000 jobs within the supply chain an additional 1,300 jobs to new airport employees and much more.
Currently, the Northern Runway is used only as a taxiway when the Main Runway is out of use. Gatwick plans to use the runway for departing flights only. If approved, works on the Northern Runway could start in 2025 and be completed towards the end of the decade and would enable the airport to serve up to 75 million passengers yearly by the late 2030s.
