London Gatwick explains why expansion at Gatwick is needed in its evidence-based report to the Airports Commission

• Expansion at Gatwick will enable more people to fly to more destinations – 10 million more passengers each year will be able to travel with a second runway at Gatwick than with a third runway at Heathrow
• Expansion at Gatwick will generate more competition, keeping fares low, and delivering £40 billion more in economic benefits to the UK than expansion at Heathrow
• A new runway at Gatwick can be delivered around five years earlier than a third runway at Heathrow at no additional cost or risk to the taxpayer
• Expansion at Gatwick will deliver over 120,000 jobs in London and the South East, rebalancing the economy away from an overheated M4 corridor
• Gatwick’s location South of London means far fewer people will be affected by noise – a second runway at Gatwick would impact only 14,000 people compared to the 240,000 people impacted by noise from Heathrow today

LONDON, 2014-5-13 — /Travel PR News/ — London Gatwick will tomorrow submit to the Airports Commission a 3,200 page, evidence-based report that shows clearly why expansion at Gatwick is the obvious solution to meeting the UK’s connectivity needs for the next generation.

A second runway at Gatwick will enable more people to fly to more destinations, earlier. It can be delivered more cost effectively, with a higher degree of certainty and much less planning, construction and financial risk.

Expansion at Gatwick will increase competition to destinations around the world from London’s airports which will deliver extra capacity at a lower cost and lower fares for all passengers. The economic benefit to the UK of this enhanced competition will be £40 billion more than Heathrow’s third runway. Furthermore, in contrast to the Heathrow case, this can be delivered at no additional cost or risk to the taxpayer.

Stewart Wingate, CEO of London Gatwick said: “As we reach this critical point in the aviation debate it is clear that the Airports Commission has a very real choice to make: expand Gatwick and create genuine competition in the market with lower fares for everyone, or move back to a London airport market dominated by a single player and saddle the next generation with higher air fares.

“Why would you choose to fly a quarter of a million more planes every year over one of the world’s most densely populated cities when instead you can fly them mostly over fields? Why tunnel part of the busiest motorway in Europe – the M25 – causing serious traffic disruption, when you can build on land already set aside for expansion? The choice is an obvious one. Expand the best and only deliverable option – Gatwick – and create a market that serves everyone.”

London Gatwick’s case for expansion builds on the strengths of the existing network of airports, which already serves London and the UK. It is the best solution on the grounds that:

Expanding Gatwick creates the market that works for all passengers

A two-runway Gatwick in competition with a two-runway Heathrow will encourage greater competition between airlines and airports, spur innovation, drive greater cost efficiencies and result in lower fares for passengers. Considering the effect of competition alone, we calculate that the UK economy would be better off by up to £30 billion over 60 years.

The alternative is returning to a market with one dominant player where passengers will end up paying more for less choice and less convenience.

Expanding Gatwick will deliver greater economic benefits for the whole of the UK

Expansion at Gatwick will give the UK the greatest economic boost, more quickly, and more flights to more destinations from London.

It will deliver an overall economic benefit to the UK of around £40 billion more than expansion at Heathrow and at no additional cost or risk to the taxpayer.

Expansion at Gatwick would attract new businesses creating an additional 120,000 jobs across London and the South East.

Only expansion at Gatwick will address the demands of the future and help maintain Britain’s leading position in the global race

Aviation is changing fast. It is important that any decision about where future runway capacity should go is one which best enables the UK aviation sector to adapt to market trends of the future rather than the patterns of the past.

The Gatwick proposal is best placed to align with key future trends – including continued market share gains by Low Cost Carriers, the spread of new technology hub-busting aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, and the rapid rise of new hubs in the Middle East and Far East. It is most likely that such trends will continue to reduce the relative importance of traditional transfer traffic through London, and will confirm that seeking to install a single dominant hub is not the best solution for the UK’s future needs.

Only Gatwick can cater for all airline models – full service, low-cost and charter – with affordable charges and facilities that enable fast and efficient aircraft turnaround times. The best choice is to build at Gatwick and develop a future proof solution that can support growth of all airline models.

The alternative is to build at Heathrow which excludes the low-cost business model which has transformed the market over the past decade and continues to be the main driver of innovation.

Only Gatwick is the deliverable option

What the UK needs above all is certainty that additional runway capacity will at last be delivered. With Gatwick now firmly at the centre of this debate there is greater certainty that a new runway could be built.

Gatwick’s second runway is a straightforward construction project, building a new runway on land already set aside for runway expansion. Unlike Heathrow, it doesn’t involve putting the busiest stretch of the busiest motorway in Europe into a tunnel, which would cost the UK in excess of £1bn in disruption.

The lower construction risk means a second runway at Gatwick could be built for £7.8 billion – considerably less than the cost of a new runway at Heathrow. This would result in airport charges (£12-15 per passenger at today’s prices) that would be around a third of the price of Heathrow’s and an operational second runway by 2025.

Many fewer homes will be under the flight path than at Heathrow but to support those most affected, Gatwick has introduced Europe’s most progressive noise and insulation scheme. If a second runway is built, Gatwick will also compensate those most affected with an offer of £1,000 per annum towards their Council Tax.

The many planning, environmental, surface access and political difficulties associated with Heathrow means there is considerable doubt whether another runway would ever get built – giving the Gatwick option much greater certainty.

Notes to Editors

Key statistics for a second runway Gatwick Airport

 

Flight movements	An additional 260,000 flights by 2050
Passenger numbers	95 million passengers per year by 2050
Gatwick can serve all airline business models	Low cost, legacy, and charter
Speed of delivery	Operational by 2025
Construction cost	£7.8 billion
Economic benefit	£40 billion more than Heathrow
Contribution to UK taxes	£15 billion
Job creation	122,000
Airport charges	£12-£15 in today’s prices
Additional taxpayer funds	0
Airport congestion charging	0
Rail access	Gatwick is already the most connected airport by rail. Post-expansion, there will be a direct link to 175 stations and more than 1,000 with one change
Rail service frequency	Gatwick’s rail capacity will be nearly tripled. Frequency of trains doubled. A train to Central London every 2.5 minutes
Noise impacts today	Gatwick: 3,650 people in 1,600 homesHeathrow: 240,000 people in 100,000 homes
Noise impacts with expansion	Gatwick: 14,200 people in 5,500 homes by 2050
Gatwick will compensate Council Tax payers	£1,000 per annum (index-linked)
Homes required to be removed	166
Business premises affected	286

 

List of airlines publicly supporting growth at Gatwick so far: Norwegian, Monarch, Vietnam Airlines, WOWAir

For a summary of Gatwick’s case for a second runway please click here.

Footage for media – a broadcast-quality CGI animation of Gatwick with two runways and general b-roll footage is available to download here

Images for media – CGI images of Gatwick with two runways and portrait images of CEO Stewart Wingate are available to download here

 

For more information contact:

Gatwick Airport press office

t: + 44 (0) 1293 505000
e: gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com

About Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the busiest single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 35 million passengers a year on short and long-haul services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 23,000 on-airport jobs and a further 13,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.

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