Campaigners Plead With Gatwick And Government: "No More Expansion"

Two groups of campaigners in Sussex, both concerned about the impacts of flights using Gatwick Airport, particularly if they increase, have joined forces to call for no more airport expansion.

In a letter to government ministers, and examined by The Guardian newspaper, they claim the airport is "seeking significant growth without the means or plans for how they are to deliver net zero by 2050,”

Communities Against Gatwick Noise And Emissions (CAGNE) and the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign said, in statements:

“It would be a dangerous and irresponsible act by the Government to allow any expansion, prejudging the outcome of its net zero aviation consultation (due this summer).”

The groups joined a call, by the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) and more than a dozen other UK community groups, for all airport expansion to be halted, in view of the Government’s move to include aviation in carbon budgets and legislation. 

They asked the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to:

"...suspend the determination of all applications to increase the physical capacity of UK airports, or their approved operating caps, until noise and climate policies were in place, against which such applications could be judged."

A particular concern was the possibility of increasing the use of Gatwick's emergency runway, though this would be subject to the outcome of a public consultation due this autumn.

Campaigners considered that this, combined with extra capacity possible on the main runway, would bring "a significant rise in carbon emissions and greenhouse gases."   

They said:

“We all welcome the Government’s move and its ambition to reduce the climate impact of aviation, but we need to see legislation before any further talk of airport expansion, or building 2nd runways by stealth, or ‘making best use of current facilities’ as current policy allows.”

Official airport environmental information says Gatwick has achieved an 8% reduction in emissions from fuel and energy use in 2019 compared to 2018, and a 54.5% cumulative reduction compared to 1990.

It also said 62% of all flights are carried out by the quietest aircraft, and that 99% of the popular and modern A320 aircraft have been modified to reduce noise on arrival.

Among other achievements, it had also retained the Wildlife Trusts' Biodiversity Benchmark certification for six consecutive years.