• London Gatwick’s Northern Runway project can move into the design and delivery phase after the Court of Appeal rejected legal challenges to the expansion.
• The project is expected to support 100,000 additional flights a year from 2030, create 14,000 jobs and generate £1 billion in annual economic benefits.
• Gatwick said the ruling concludes an eight-year planning and legal process.

London Gatwick’s Northern Runway project has moved a decisive step closer after the Court of Appeal rejected legal challenges brought by two campaign groups opposing the expansion. The ruling confirms that the Secretary of State for Transport’s September 2025 approval of the project was taken properly and lawfully. It also brings to an end what Gatwick described as an eight-year planning and legal process, allowing the airport to proceed into the design and delivery phase.

“Today’s Court of Appeal decision to comprehensively reject the legal challenges brought by the two campaign groups opposing London Gatwick’s Northern Runway Project, confirms, yet again, that the September 2025 decision by the Secretary of State for Transport to approve the Northern Runway Project was taken properly and lawfully. We are also very pleased that this ruling, from senior Court of Appeal Judges, brings to an end an eight-year planning and legal process which has carefully tested and scrutinised every aspect of our expansion plans on multiple occasions,” said Pierre-Hugues Schmit, Chief Executive of London Gatwick.

Under the plan, Gatwick’s existing Northern Runway will be brought into routine use alongside the main runway. The first flights are expected to operate from the extended runway in 2030.

The Government said the expansion could enable around 100,000 additional flights a year and support approximately 13 million more passengers. Gatwick currently serves more than 200 destinations. Pierre-Hugues Schmit, Chief Executive of London Gatwick, said the decision “brings to an end an eight-year planning and legal process which has carefully tested and scrutinised every aspect of our expansion plans on multiple occasions”.

The project is expected to generate 14,000 new jobs and deliver an estimated £1 billion in additional economic benefits each year. Gatwick said the investment would also be supported by an employment, skills and business strategy intended to benefit local communities and the wider region.

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