London Gatwick Airport has cleared its final legal hurdle to proceed with its £2.2bn ($3bn) second runway expansion.
On 4 August 2026, the London Court of Appeal dismissed a final challenge by environmental campaigners, bringing an end to an intensive eight-year planning and legal dispute. The Court of Appeal ruling, handed down by Lord Justice Holgate and Lord Justice Dove, concluded that the legal grounds raised by activists were completely “unarguable” with “no real prospect of success”. Gatwick will not construct an entirely new landing strip but will instead reposition its existing emergency standby northern runway 12 metres north, allowing it to operate safely alongside the main runway.
The dual-runway model will allow the airport to handle 100,000 additional flights per year and increase passenger capacity from roughly 43m to 80m passengers annually. The second runway will be primarily dedicated to the departures of narrow-bodied aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. The first routine dual-runway flights are scheduled to take off in 2030. The project is entirely privately funded by the airport’s shareholders.,
Pierre-Hugues Schmit shared: “With the legal victory finalised, the project can enter the immediate design and delivery phase.”
- The Court of Appeal dismissed challenges to Gatwick’s second runway on 4 August
- The £2.2bn project will reposition the existing northern runway 12 metres north
- Passenger capacity will rise from 43m to 80m annually
- The runway will handle 100,000 additional flights per year
- First dual-runway flights are scheduled for 2030
