“It is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport to decide if Gatwick are allowed a new runway, so CAGNE are relieved that the Chancellor has not voiced her opinion today. Gatwick’s new runway is not the answer if the Chancellor seeks to bring money into the UK purse”, says CAGNE.
An airport as large as Heathrow, exporting UK residents out of the UK to spend, spend, spend overseas, reliant upon cheap flights will not help the UK economy, only the portfolios of Gatwick’s overseas shareholders.”
In 2015, elected members voted to support a new runway in the south-east at London Heathrow Airport (2015 Airport Commission), as it offered the greatest benefit for the UK economy and would increase worldwide connectivity.
Whether you thought this was the right decision or not, you must agree that elected members did not vote for a new runway at the West Sussex regional, seasonal leisure airport, Gatwick.
Gatwick Airport is being disingenuous in seeking to manipulate government policy by giving it a new meaning, to obtain a new runway with little funding for the infrastructure and amenities that would be required, to support an airport as big as Heathrow is today.
Unlike Luton, that seeks improvements of airport infrastructure, facilities and change to restrictions through policy, Gatwick is using smoke and mirrors to fool the Labour top table that its plans are ‘good news’. In reality, it will have far-reaching costs for local authorities and could become a white elephant, creating unemployment – as we saw during COVID and every time the leisure market declines.
“Gatwick is a major exporter of sterling overseas, through low-cost leisure airlines that are reliant on being ‘cheap’, so does not directly help the UK purse”, says CAGNE, the umbrella aviation community and environment group for Sussex, Surrey and Kent, that has led the challenge against Gatwick’s planning application.
“The full reports, which were only finalised on 17th January, are important evidence to the lack of resources in neighbouring counties to support an airport as large as Heathrow today.
“A new runway will cost the taxpayer dearly, as Gatwick is not looking to fund any improvements in infrastructure to assist with transporting 80m+ flyers, plus inward- migrating workers.”
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is well-known as aviation greenwashing. It is not the answer to allowing aviation to decarbonise and grow as it is expensive, requires intense power to produce and there is a lack of base product to produce enough fuel to meet today’s mandatory targets, whilst competing against other sectors that seek the same materials for domestic heating.
“If you are mad enough to ignore the global warming impact of leisure flights, you can’t ignore the fact that the government is meant to be seeking to level-up, taking industry and funding north – so why spend so much taxpayer’s money on infrastructure to support a regional airport such as Gatwick, that brings little into the UK purse in the form of inward tourism?”
Sadly, the knock-on effects for residents, whether that be the considerable increase
in noise or decline in air quality and amenities, are ignored by Gatwick as they are
outside the boundary of the airport and not required to be addressed, unlike forHeathrow’s new runway.
As most jobs being offered by the airport are minimum wage, the pressure on local authorities will intensify, along with a lack of school places, hospital beds, wastewater treatment plants and other amenities. Areas surrounding Gatwick are expensive for renting or purchasing homes and the airport has always suffered from a lack of workforce.
Gatwick is seeking 101,000 extra leisure flights a year, going from 285,000 pre-Covid to 386,000, and going from 46m passengers to 80m+. Although the new runway will not operate at night or take arrivals, the airport will be firing off departures from two runways that must all return to Gatwick on a single runway.
CAGNE is committed to legally challenge any decision in favour of a new runway at Gatwick Airport. Details of fundraising activities can be found at www.cagne.org