London Gatwick Airport's plan to bring its existing northern runway into routine use has cleared a major legal hurdle after the Court of Appeal rejected a challenge from local campaigners, removing a significant obstacle to the expansion project.

The court refused Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE) permission to appeal, a decision that Gatwick and the UK government said would end years of legal uncertainty surrounding the project, according to a report by Aerospace Global News.

Under the plan, the airport will upgrade its northern runway so it can be used for routine aircraft movements alongside the main runway, rather than serving primarily as a standby runway. Gatwick expects the expanded operation to begin in 2030 and projects the change will increase annual flight capacity by around 100,000 movements, adding to the more than 200 destinations the airport already serves.

Before the runway can be brought into dual use, its centreline must be moved 12 metres north to meet safety standards. Under the approved plan, the runway will be restricted to takeoffs for narrowbody aircraft, while landings continue on the main runway. The project carries a capital cost of £2.2 billion, covering the airfield, car parks, hangars, terminals, construction and surface access, and is fully funded by VINCI Airports, which holds a 50 percent stake in Gatwick, with no public investment involved.

Pierre-Hugues Schmit, chief executive of the airport, said the Court of Appeal's decision confirmed that the Transport Secretary's September 2025 approval of the Northern Runway Project had been taken properly and lawfully. He said the ruling brought to a close an eight-year planning and legal process that had "carefully tested and scrutinised every aspect" of the airport's expansion plans. Schmit added that the project would deliver business, tourism and trade benefits for the UK, including 14,000 new jobs and a £1 billion annual boost to the economy, and said the airport could now move into the design and delivery phase.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the ruling "a major milestone" for Gatwick and local communities, saying the expansion would unlock investment and create thousands of jobs. She said the added capacity of roughly 13 million more passengers and 100,000 more flights would give travellers greater choice and strengthen the UK's global connections, while noting the government was also investing more than £219 million in green fuel production to reduce aviation emissions.

CAGNE, the campaign group behind the legal challenge, said residents should be "immensely proud" of holding Gatwick's shareholders to account and warned that the new runway would come at a significant cost to taxpayers and the environment. A spokesperson for the group described the ruling as "a deeply disappointing reflection of recent changes to the legal process, rather than of the strength or commitment of our legal team," and said the group believed judges understood the environmental impacts at stake, including concerns over sewerage treatment capacity. The group said its funds and attention would now shift toward the airport's proposed new terminal, air quality issues and airspace changes.

Source: Aerospace Global News