Gatwick airport to open second runway after legal challenge fails

Gatwick Airport’s £2.2 billion second runway project overcame its final legal hurdle on August 4, 2026, after the Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge to a High Court ruling that the scheme could proceed.

The project, approved by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in September 2025, will allow about 100,000 more flights a year at Britain’s second busiest airport.

It involves repositioning the emergency runway for routine short-haul flights, handling around 13 million more passengers annually.

Currently one of the world’s busiest single-runway airports, Gatwick aims to have the runway operational by 2030.

Pierre-Hugues Schmit, Gatwick’s chief executive, said he was very pleased that the ruling ended an eight-year planning and legal process, adding that every aspect had been carefully tested and scrutinized.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the decision a major milestone, saying the extra flights would give holidaymakers greater choice and strengthen global links. She also highlighted a £219 million investment in green fuel production to cut aviation emissions.

Peter Barclay, chair of Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign which brought the challenge, expressed disappointment. He warned that airport expansion will lock in climate, noise and air pollution impacts and blight local communities.

Luton Rising announced that all legal challenges to its own expansion have now been cleared, with the Supreme Court dismissing a final appeal. The project aims to increase annual capacity from 19 million to 32 million passengers by the mid-2040s, creating up to 11,000 jobs and generating up to an additional £1.5 billion in annual economic activity, with strict noise and emissions controls.