London/Gatwick Airport has received conditional support from the UK Government for a full-time second runway.

The West Sussex airport plans to increase capacity through its Northern Runway project to bring the airport’s northern taxiway into routine use as a runway for departing aircraft.

The £2.2 billion scheme which would reposition the centreline of the northern taxiway, could be ready for operational use “by the end of the decade”, London/Gatwick Airport said.

In a written statement to Parliament on February 27, 2025, the UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Today I have issued a ‘minded to approve’ letter for the Gatwick Airport Northern Runway Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Act 2008.” Alexander’s statement added: “The deadline for the final decision is now extended to October 27, 2025 (an extension of nine months). The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent for the application.”

The statement to Parliament also said: “Given the examining authority’s report, for the first time, recommends an alternative DCO which includes a range of controls on the operation of the scheme and not all the provisions have been considered during the examination…”. The statement added that the new date: “…provides some additional time to seek views from all parties on the provisions, prior to a final decision.”

The airport has until April 24 to respond to demands that for example include noise mitigation and that a percentage of passengers get to the airport using public transport.

Stewart Wingate, chief executive officer, London Gatwick said: “We welcome today’s announcement that the Secretary of State for Transport is minded to approve our Northern Runway plans and has outlined a clear pathway to full approval later in the year.”

Gatwick airport Northern Runway Development

London/Gatwick Airport announced a proposal for converting its northern taxiway into a second runway in a master plan published in 2018.

A 2022 document released by the airport explained more about what the Northern Runway development project involves: “We seek permission to bring the existing northern runway into routine operation. This runway is parallel to the main runway and is currently restricted under a planning condition for use as a standby/emergency runway”. It added: “Routine use of the northern runway alongside the existing main runway would provide a dual runway operation at Gatwick Airport. No new flight paths would be created as a result of the project. The project includes the development of a range of infrastructure and facilities, largely within the confines of the existing airport boundary, as well as major road enhancements to improve access to the airport.

“Collectively, the project proposals include: alterations to the existing northern runway, including repositioning its centreline 12m [39ft] further north to enable dual runway operations, reconfiguration of taxiways, pier and stand amendments (including a proposed new pier) [and] reconfiguration of other airfield facilities.”

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates a minimum distance of 210m (100ft) between runways in its manual on Simultaneous Operations on Parallel or Near-Parallel Instrument Runways. Repositioning the centreline by 12m would enable the 210m minimum separation distance.

In background information London/Gatwick Airport says: “This forward-looking plan also aims to use the airport's existing infrastructure to unlock new capacity and improve airport resilience, in line with government policy.”

According to the airport, the Northern Runway project would create around 14,000 new jobs and inject £1 billion into the economy every year. The airport describes its privately financed plan as “one of the largest capital investment projects in the region [southeast England] in decades”. Gatwick said it would enable the airport to serve up to 80 million passengers a year. The Civil Aviation Authority’s latest UK airports statistics show Gatwick handled 43.2 million passengers in 2024, accounting for 14.8% of all passengers at UK airports.

Gatwick runway planning

There was an initial 12-week public consultation in autumn 2021 on the Northern Runway plans. This was followed by a six-week consultation in 2022 on updated designs for the plan, which included three separate changes to “minimise impacts on the environment and provide design flexibility”. The airport says: “Before submitting these changes to the Planning Inspectorate, we consulted the public, landowners and other stakeholders on the changes so that views were taken into account.”

The airport submitted the Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate on July 6, 2023. The application was accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate on August 3, 2023.

A six-month period of what the airport called a “detailed and rigorous examination of the proposals by a panel of independent experts” started in February 2024 and concluded on August 27, 2024.

In the summer of 2024, London Gatwick opened a further four-week consultation on a further potential change, proposing an on-airport wastewater treatment works facility.

Gatwick Airport CEO Stewart Wingate said: “It is vital that any planning conditions attached to the final approval enable us to make a decision to invest £2.2 billion in this project and realise the full benefits of bringing the Northern Runway into routine use. We will of course engage fully in the extended process for a final decision.”