Gatwick will launch a public consultation next month about plans to bring its existing northern runway into routine use.
The airport said that using this second runway will secure the hub’s long-term growth, create 18,400 extra jobs and generate £1.5 billion for the region by 2038.
Environmental campaigners yesterday slated plans for the second runway, saying they fly “in the face of the climate emergency we are all facing”.
If approved, the plans would allow the airport’s northern runway to be used for departing aircraft, by repositioning its centre line further north by 12 metres.
This would allow an increase in passenger capacity to approximately 75 million passengers per year by 2038.
“The project proposals are low impact and are in line with government policy of making best use of existing runways,” said the airport in a statement.
“The project will be delivered in a sustainable way which helps to achieve the government’s overall goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”
Stewart Wingate, chief executive at Gatwick, said: “While we are currently experiencing low passenger and air traffic volumes due to the global pandemic, we are confident that Gatwick will not only fully recover to previous passenger levels, but has the potential to continue to grow back into one of Europe’s premier airports.
“Aside from the economic benefits our plans will have, we remain committed to our sustainability goals, and our northern runway plans are designed to be a low-impact way of unlocking new capacity from our existing infrastructure, much of which is already in place.”
The 12-week consultation runs from September 9-December 1 with details available at www.gatwickairport.com/futureplans.