Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has given Gatwick permission to bring its standby runway into permanent use for departing short-haul flights. The £2.2 billion project will mean repositioning the second runway 12 metres to the north, work that could be completed within four years.
The extra runway means Gatwick could potentially double passenger numbers to 80 million via almost 190 extra flights a day once it is fully operational. Extensions will also be built to both North and South Terminals within the existing airport footprint.
