Why the talk of a second runway?

In 2000 the Government began investigating airport expansion in the South East in the wake of experts' predictions that the long-term outlook for the aviation industry is for huge growth.

Air transport, the Government says, is "critical to the future success of the economy".

More than 180,000 people are directly employed in the industry, which contributes over £10 billion to the economy each year.

According to the Department for Transport, the number of passengers using British airports has trebled in the past 20 years while the number of flights has doubled.

This trend is set to continue over the next 30 years, with experts forecasting a further threefold increase in air traffic.

Why Gatwick?

Gatwick Airport escaped the first set of plans announced in July 2002 as officials sought to uphold a legal agreement made in 1979 not to add any new runways before 2019.

Instead, the Government suggested expanding capacity at Heathrow and Stansted while proposing a brand new airport at Cliffe in Kent.

The Cliffe proposals sparked a wave of protest from residents and conservationists outraged at the prospect of blight in the Kent countryside and the environmental damage they argued it would bring to a wildlife sanctuary on the Thames estuary.

After a challenge from Kent and Essex councils, the High Court ruled that Gatwick should be included in the consultation process.

Consequently, in February 2003 Gatwick featured prominently in the Government's revised set of plans, which set out three options for the airport:

1. Two new runways, one to the south and one to the north, increasing capacity to 115 million passengers a year and creating 58,000 new jobs.
2. A new full-length runway to the south running parallel to the existing one, roughly doubling the capacity of the airport to about 60 million passengers a year and leading to the demolition of 50 houses and the loss of 250 acres of green belt land.
3. A full-length runway about 1,000m to the south of the existing one, which could mean the demolition of part of the industrial area to the north of Crawley as well as 300 houses. About 840 acres of green belt land would be lost. Passenger numbers would increase to around 80 million.

Expansion looms

Then in May, 2003 BAA, which operates the UK's main airports including Gatwick, presented its recommendations for airport expansion to the Government.

In a seven-page document entitled 'Responsible Growth', BAA suggested a shortlist of four options for new runways in the region from which it wants the Government to choose three finalists.

The options are:

1. A short new runway at Heathrow
2. Up to two new runways at Stansted
3. A close-parallel runway to the south at Gatwick
4. A wide-spaced parallel runway at Gatwick

The Government is expected to announce its decision in the autumn.

Find out more about the Government's consultation on the future of air travel in the South East.

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