Court of Appeal Clears Gatwick Airport Second Runway Project

The Court of Appeal dismissed legal challenges from local campaign groups on Tuesday, clearing the way for Gatwick Airport to begin development of a second runway. The £2.2 billion privately funded project was approved in September by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and involves repositioning the airport's emergency runway 12 meters north to allow routine use by narrow-bodied aircraft.

The expansion aims to accommodate 100,000 more flights and 13 million more passengers annually, with operations expected to begin as early as 2030. To mitigate the environmental impact, the government is investing over £219 million in green fuel production.

Campaigners, including Peter Barclay and the group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions, argued that the government failed to properly assess the project's climate impact. However, judges ruled that the appeals were unarguable. While the airport administration prepares to move into the design and delivery phase, opponents claim the project imposes significant costs on local communities and the environment. In a separate legal development, Luton Rising announced that all legal challenges to its own airport expansion plans have been cleared following a Supreme Court dismissal.