Gatwick sets out plans to use standby runway

Gatwick has set out plans to bring its standby runway into routine use for departing flights by the mid-2020s.

Britain's second busiest airport said the move would meet all international safety requirements and could be delivered without increasing its noise footprint.

Under its current planning agreement, the standby runway can only be used when the main runway is closed for maintenance or emergencies, but the 40-year agreement comes to an end in 2019, Gatwick said.

It said it was exploring the "innovative" scheme as part of its master plan which "sets out how Gatwick can grow and do more for Britain".

The master plan will be the subject of a 12-week consultation and the airport said it was keen to listen to the views of "local communities and stakeholders".

The idea of using the standby runway routinely has already been made public with details fleshed out in Thursday's announcement.

Campaigners have already expressed opposition because of noise and safety concerns.

Gatwick said its development would help meet future aviation demand and ensure strong connections between Britain and global markets.

It said plans for the use of the standby runway were still in the early stages of exploration and that if taken forward would be the subject of a detailed planning proposal and full public consultation.

Gatwick missed out two years ago when its larger rival Heathrow was selected by the government as the site for a new runway in southeast England.

It is now operating at full capacity during its busy summer period.

Under its latest master plan, it will use new technology to increase capacity on its main runway.

It added that while it was no longer actively seeking to build a new runway to the south of the airport, it still wants land kept for this purpose.

Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport was putting forward "agile, productive and low-impact ways of unlocking much-needed capacity and increased resilience from within our existing infrastructure".

Local (Stuttgart: 19549987.SG - news) group Communities Against Gatwick and Noise Emissions (CAGNE) said using the emergency runway for flights would be unsafe as the runways are very close to each other.

It would also create new noise problems as well as putting extra pressure on local transport links, they added.

"The local authorities, the people we elected, need to think hard before supporting Gatwick's plans," CAGNE said in a statement.