London Gatwick’s plans to create a second fully operational runway will go ahead after the UK’s Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by campaign groups.
The High Court had ruled in June that the UK government acted “lawfully” when it approved the £2.2 billion plan for Gatwick’s expansion, which will see the airport’s northern runway becoming fully operational instead of being used as a taxiway for aircraft.
Campaign groups Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE) and Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC) had launched a legal challenge to the government’s decision. But this has now been dismissed and the groups will not be permitted to appeal further.
The end of the legal process means that Gatwick could open its Northern Runway to regular flights from 2030, which will allow the UK’s second largest airport to add another 100,000 flights per year.
Pierre-Hugues Schmit, CEO of London Gatwick, said: “We are 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.”
“This final ruling means that we can now press on with the important job of bringing this exciting project to life and move forward into the design and delivery phase.”
UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander added in a statement: “This is a major milestone for Gatwick and for local communities, with expansion unlocking investment and creating thousands of new jobs.
“We’ll back expansion that supports growth and our climate goals. To drive forward sustainable change, we’re also investing over £219 million for green fuel production to cut emissions from flying and secure the future of aviation.”
CAGNE called the Court of Appeal ruling “deeply disappointing” and said it would use remaining funds to “continue holding Gatwick to account”.
“Our focus will turn to the proposed new terminal, the decline in air quality, and the airspace changes that were not permitted to be considered as part of this planning application,” the group added in a statement.
Luton expansion clears legal hurdles
Expansion plans at another UK airport, London Luton, are also set to go ahead after the UK Supreme Court denied environmental groups permission to continue their legal fight against government approval for the project, which was granted in April 2025.
The airport, which is owned by Luton Council through its Luton Rising company, is planning a phased expansion that would increase capacity by up to 60 per cent — taking it from 19 million passengers per year to 32 million annually by the mid-2040s.
Paul Kehoe, chair of Luton Rising, said: “This is a landmark moment, not just for Luton, but also for how the UK thinks about publicly owned infrastructure delivering for communities and the country.
“We are very pleased to now have the certainty we have been working towards. As a community-owned organisation, every passenger travelling through our airport means more investment in local people and services.”