UK: Government has change of heart – after legal ruling
Following a change of heart from those in charge of the future of aviation, Gatwick airport could now get a second runway and double its capacity.
As reported by News From Abroad, ministers were ready to ignore Gatwick as option for expanding air capacity in the south-east of the country, with more weight being given to expanding Heathrow and Stansted, and the possibility of a new airport off the coast of Kent.
Gatwick had been ignored because of a 20-year-old ruling that ssaid it should not be expanded, but a High Court judge told the Government it had acted in an “irrational and unfair” manner by excluding the airport from its plans.
Now the transport secretary Alistair Darling is to outline plans for a new runway at Gatwick, which could see the airport double its capacity to some 83 million passengers a year.
