Gatwick Plans Unveiled

This is the statement issued by Gatwick Airport on Thursday February 28th. Under a covenant, a second runway couldn't be built until 2019

Gatwick Airport announced today that it has formally submitted its expression of intent to put forward short, medium and long-term proposals to address the UK's capacity challenge to the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies. This is in accordance with the requirements set out by the Commission in its Guidance documents published earlier this year.

Gatwick will, in due course, put forward an innovative, affordable, deliverable and sustainable set of options for the Airports Commission to look at. Our vision is for the incremental development of a competitive and successful network of three major London airports each with, in time, two runways. We believe a second runway at Gatwick should come first and will provide the air connections the UK needs for a generation.

A competing network of airports will deliver more for those that matter most in this debate - the passengers. The three major competing airports - Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted - will deliver continuously improving service levels, better facilities, more reliability and resilience, greater choice and lower costs. It will also produce the direct connections the UK economy demands.

Work to evaluate the runway options at Gatwick is now underway and we are committed to undertaking a comprehensive and in-depth assessment that considers not only the economic benefits but also the environmental impacts. We will be consulting with our key stakeholders throughout the process and submitting evidence in accordance with the timetable set out by the Airports Commission.