Almost 90,000 additional flights and 28 million extra passengers could use Gatwick Airport by 2038, if proposals to use its standby runway are given the go ahead.
More details of Gatwick’s 2019 master plan have been revealed in a scoping report submitted to the planning inspectorate earlier this month.
The airport is preparing a planning application to make alterations to its northern runway, which at the moment is only used when the main runway is closed.
The UK’s second-busiest airport is preparing a planning application which would make the altered runway fully operational by 2026.
The scoping report says that, along with bringing the emergency runway into regular use, Gatwick bosses want to extend its north and south terminals, and build three new hotels – two of which will have up to 400 rooms.
By 2038, it is anticipated the improvements could increase the airport’s capacity to 74 million passengers each year, compared to the 46 million who used it in 2018, the report said.
If the proposal gets the go-ahead, the current gap between the main runway and the second runway would be extended. The existing runway would be used for arrivals, while departing aircraft would use both.
Gatwick said its master plan is in line with the Government’s policy of making the best use of existing runways.
A planning restriction, which had historically prevented Gatwick’s northern airstrip from being used at the same time as the main runway expired in August this year.
The report says construction work could begin in 2021, with the altered northern runway fully operational by 2026.
Extensions to the terminal buildings would likely take place between 2025 and 2029, the report said, while the hotels and commercial facilities would not be completed until 2032.
The final decision in the process will be made by the transport secretary.
