The £2.2 billion privately financed project will see the relocation of Gatwick’s emergency runway 12 metres north to bring it into regular use, alongside other developments including terminal extensions.  

Gatwick, Europe's busiest single-runway airport, currently handles about 280,000 flights a year, and is used by more than 40 million passengers annually, projected to rise to 80 million following expansion.*

CIHT welcomes the UK Government’s continued commitment to growth. Investment in transport infrastructure must form an intrinsic part of any growth agenda. However, CIHT believes that this growth must be sustainably delivered.    

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the government’s independent advisor on achieving Net Zero, previously recommended that any airport expansion should not go ahead until a UK wide capacity management framework is in place that can assess and where necessary control the aviation sector’s Green House Gas emissions.    

CIHT has previously called on the Department for Transport to develop a framework that shows how the emissions from additional flights generated by UK airport expansion can be accommodated without compromising the UK’s carbon budgets. The support for the expansion of Gatwick and Heathrow must be consistent with a credible pathway to Net Zero by 2050.   

CIHT looks forward to continuing to engage and work with HM Treasury and the Department for Transport to create transport networks that work for all, without compromising on the Net Zero agenda. 

Please see the full press release here. 

* Figures from BBC News (22 September 2025)- Gatwick second runway plan approved by transport secretary