With the UK Government recently announcing that London Gatwick Airport’s expansion plans have been approved, we’ll look at the plans and at what they might mean for the surrounding property market here.

London Gatwick Airport currently handles circa 43m passengers annually. It is the UK’s second largest airport and one of the ‘top ten’ in Europe by passenger numbers. It is said to be the most efficient single runway airport in the world, being capable of handling 55 aircraft movements per hour. The airport is owned by Vinci Airports which owns 70 airports worldwide. It directly employs around 3,200 people in the area and supports over 70,000 jobs elsewhere.

Proposals to expand the airport’s runway capacity have been ongoing for many years. They have been delayed by objections and periodic downturns in air traffic, particularly during the pandemic. However, a major expansion has now been approved at last.

The latest expansion plan is unusual in that it does not propose a new runway as such nor a runway extension. Gatwick was originally built with two parallel runways which are too close to be used simultaneously. The latest plans involve repositioning the centreline of the northern runway by 12 metres to allow both runways to be used at the same time. The operators say that the larger number of aircraft movements possible will increase passenger capacity to 80m annually.

In addition to the runway work there will be new taxiways, aircraft parking stands, a new pier, and extensions to the North and South terminals. There will be upgraded access roads, public open spaces and ecological mitigation. There will be scope for new hotels, office space and car parking.