London Gatwick Airport seeks second runway as air travel booms

London’s Gatwick Airport Ltd. is seeking planning permission to bring its second runway into full-time use, potentially raising capacity by tens of millions of passengers annually as air travel rebounds post-pandemic.

The UK’s second-largest airport wants to open the strip, currently used as a taxiway or as an emergency measure when the main runway is out of service, for regular operations. It would handle departures only, with the existing runway facilitating landings.

The move would create about 14,000 jobs and inject £1 billion ($1.3 billion) into the local economy each year because of the tourism and business opportunities it would generate, Gatwick said in a statement. It has submitted an application to the UK’s planning inspectorate.

Gatwick is attempting to resurrect plans to expand its emergency runway even after the UK in 2016 endorsed larger Heathrow airport, which has long planned to build a third runway, as the best candidate for growth. So far, Heathrow hasn’t yet started construction amid legal challenges. Gatwick said it could begin upgrades on the so-called Northern Runway project in 2025 and complete it by 2030.

The airport handled about 33 million travelers last year, though that was below pre-pandemic levels. Airports are seeing more passengers rush through their doors this summer season as demand for air travel booms following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The northern runway would offer new international connections to increase competition in London’s airport market, as well as helping Gatwick meet passenger demand in the future and boost its resilience, Gatwick Chief Executive Officer Stewart Wingate said in the statement.