Gatwick Airport move to increase capacity 'underhand'

Plans by Gatwick Airport to use its emergency runway to increase capacity have been branded as "despicable" and a "stab in the heart" for residents.

Campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions (Cagne) said the emergency runway was designed only to deal with air incidents.

A spokeswoman for the group said it showed the airport "can't be trusted".

The airport said its five-year plan offered a safe and "low-impact" way of increasing runway capacity.

The plan also proposes the use of technology to increase the concentration of flights using the main runway.

Sally Pavey, chairwoman of Cagne, said: "This is totally underhand, a stab in the heart for residents that thought they could get on with their lives after the runway debate was won by Heathrow Airport.

"This is despicable behaviour by Gatwick management and clearly shows their contempt for us communities of Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

"They obviously can't be trusted as they have illustrated today that they do not care about communities that surround them in rural communities that are suffering today intolerable noise and fall out of Gatwick's growth."

The Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign said the plans could see more than 80,000 extra flights each year, with an increase in noise, air pollution and "excessive road traffic".

The group's chairman, Peter Barclay, said: "People will feel angry and deceived following parliament's overwhelming decision in June to confirm the government's earlier choice of Heathrow for the site of additional runway capacity in the South East."

However, a spokesman for Gatwick Airport said: "We believe the plans offer safe, agile, low-impact ways of unlocking much-needed new runway capacity from within our existing infrastructure."

Launching a 12-week public consultation, he said; "It is important that everyone has their say, so we look forward to hearing the views of our local communities, partners and stakeholders."

The airport's agreement with West Sussex County Council which forbids the use simultaneous use of both runways expires in 2019.

The airport said: "By operating both runways simultaneously, we would be able to add between 10 and 15 additional hourly aircraft movements in the peak hours, "

In June, Gatwick Airport announced £1.11bn plans to expand part of the North Terminal, including six new departure gates.