London Gatwick Airport to build second runway

Gatwick Airport in London, the second largest airport in the United Kingdom, announced on Wednesday its intention to build a second runway, despite the doubts surrounding the resumption of air traffic amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The airport, located in the south of the British capital, plans to convert the emergency runway into a real runway, hoping to be ready by 2030, according to a statement.

The airport believes that this project will allow it to carry 75 million passengers a year by 2038, compared to 62 million currently.

Despite the collapse of the aviation sector due to the health crisis and at a time when passenger traffic is only slowly recovering, the airport is determined to be ready for the situation to return to normal.

"We are convinced that not only will Gatwick restore its previous passenger levels, but it can expand to become one of the best airports in Europe," said its general manager, Stuart Wingate.

At present, the airport, which opened in 1958, has only one runway and two passenger terminals. The emergency runway is only used when the main runway is under maintenance or for transporting aircraft to warehouses.

The project to expand the emergency runway will be put to public consultation between September and December, with future government approval.

The airport assures that this will reduce the impact on the environment, despite the expected increase in traffic.

Gatwick was forced to close one of its two passenger terminals and significantly reduce its activities due to the pandemic and travel restrictions.

Traffic at the airport during the first seven months of the year was limited to only one million passengers. In 2019, this number was recorded in 10 days.