Transport secretary Heidi Alexander is ready to give Gatwick airport the green light to bring its standby runway into permanent use, a move that would almost double capacity at the West Sussex airport.
Gatwick initially submitted its application to bring the second runway into use in the summer of 2023 (Credit: iStock / Rich Higgins)
Alexander told aviation industry heads the current Labour government "believes in increasing airport capacity", reaffirming the commitments made by chancellor Rachel Reeves a month ago with regards to expansion at Heathrow airport.
Gatwick is the world’s busiest single runway airport; its plan would involve widening its emergency strip to further separate it from its primary runway, which runs parallel, and for it to be used mainly for short-haul departures owing to its shorter length.
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