Gatwick environmental group claims ‘new jobs do not necessarily come with expansion’ of a second runway - London Gatwick Airport responds

CAGNE (Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions) have spoken out against an announcement by London Gatwick about the planned expansion of the northern runway creating “10,000 new jobs”, a spokesperson from the airport said.

A spokesperson from CAGNE said: “Gatwick Airport has reported that they will submit plans to the government’s planning inspectorate the week of July 3, to rebuild the emergency runway as a 2nd runway.

“Sadly, Gatwick Airport only ever offers residents half-truths when it comes to expansion plans, and it falls to our community and environment group to fill in the facts and stop this disastrous environmental disaster from happening which will impact our planet and residents in Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

“Gatwick has always struggled to find workers, and with automation of both the airport and the aviation industry, new jobs do not necessarily come with expansion. We have seen, time and time again, the lack of job security due to the business model of the airport, providing low-cost flights predominantly to Europe. Long-haul flights seem to come and go, mostly according to whether Heathrow has slots available.”

London Gatwick Airport provided a statement on the group’s letter. A spokesperson said: “Growth associated with using our existing Northern Runway is considered a project of national significance and will be properly scrutinised through a comprehensive, independently run planning process using a panel of examiners.

"Demand for flying is forecast to continue growing as people enjoy taking a holiday overseas or connecting with family and friends. Thousands of individuals, families and businesses right across the region will also benefit from our growth, with more than 10,000 new jobs, and a £1 billion boost being delivered to the region’s economy every year.

“We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. We will invest over £250 million to become a net zero airport for our own carbon emissions by 2030, ten years ahead of our previous target. We will also make further environmental commitments when we submit our planning application, including limiting aircraft noise should our Northern Runway become fully operational.”

A spokesperson from CAGNE continued: “With the current cost-of-living crisis, the fact that greener fuels will cost some 3-5 times more than fossil fuel could hit Gatwick the hardest again, with a subsequent impact on jobs, as we saw with Covid and the last recession.

“We are all facing a climate emergency, and many have now decided not to fly because they are aware of what flying is doing to the climate, aviation being one of the biggest threats our planet faces. No responsible owners of an airport should therefore be seeking expansion at this time, especially as a second runway would add over 1m tonnes (www.aef.org.uk) of extra carbon emissions a year, on top of that already produced from the main runway.

“Because they are rebuilding the emergency runway rather than building a brand new one, it doesn’t have to go through the normal national infrastructure planning process. This means that Gatwick gets a second runway by the back door, offering few benefits for surrounding communities, or the environment. Nearly 100,000 extra flights a year are proposed, with a huge increase in freight lorry movements to and from the airport, as well as transport of drop-in greener fuels (as there is no storage infrastructure at the airport).

See more: London Gatwick Airport: expansion plans to generate more than 600 local construction jobs in Crawley, Mid Sussex, Horsham, and Reigate and Banstead among other areas, International Women in Engineering Day: Crawley apprentice ‘blazing a trail for more women’ to enter aerospace trades, The King’s first Birthday Honours List: Crawley mum receives OBE for charitable work

“As academic studies showed through COVID, when Gatwick Airport is grounded, the air quality improves, as does the wellbeing of residents when they don’t have the noise of flights day and night.”