Representation by Nicholas Beresford Taylor
- Date submitted
- 24 September 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The projected new international airport east of London was abandoned - which would have had its own problems of access. Stansted is awkward to reach from south and south-east of London. Luton is similarly distant and not easily extended. Gatwick is naturally positioned to serve the south-east and has become the major airport serving the region. Most major regional airports in north-west Europe have two runways. Examples include Manchester, Paris Orly, Toulouse, Cologne, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Munich. Gatwick is an exception and the resulting congestion is inevitable. When delayed flying in or out of Gatwick, the most common reason given is problems at Gatwick. This is particularly egregious given that the northern runway already exists, and as I understand it needs only to be moved a short distance and brought up to standard for regular use (compare the proposal for a third runway at Heathrow that would have involved removing an entire village). My only concern is that the proposed enhancement of the northern runway might turn out to be insufficient to achieve the resilient capacity the region needs.