Gatwick writes to Prime Minister outlining eight new pledges for expansion

Gatwick Airport has written to the Prime Minister setting out eight new pledges which it says will guarantee Britain a new runway by 2025.

Chairman of Gatwick Airport Limited, Sir Roy McNulty has today written to Prime Minister David Cameron setting out a series of pledges which it says will offer a road map to delivering a new runway for Britain.

Gatwick has issued the new pledges ahead of a government decision on airport expansion in South East England, which is expected this summer. If given approval for a second runway, Gatwick has said it will assure;

• The deliverability of Gatwick’s new runway,
• Guaranteed and balanced economic growth across the UK,
• A cap on passenger fares with more competition,
• The pledge that Gatwick will require no taxpayer funds,
• Gatwick’s legal air quality,
• A cap on the number of people most affected by noise,
• An industry-leading compensation scheme, and
• Shareholder commitment to the second runway project.

In his letter, Mr McNulty said, “We have submitted a considerable amount of new and updated material to the Department for Transport over the last five months. We have set out in more detail how Gatwick would create a second world class airport for the UK and meet the future aviation needs of the country. These new pledges are in large part based upon this further work.”

Mr McNulty believes the expiry of a 40 year moratorium on a new runway at Gatwick allows the airport to be a credible alternative allowing Britain to “finally solve this policy problem and secure the economic growth it needs at a fraction of the environmental cost of the alternatives.”

In conclusion, Sir Roy McNulty said: “The pledges we are making today represent a fair deal for the country – for passengers, the taxpayer and local communities. Critically they guarantee that the UK’s next runway can actually be built and operated legally so that Britain can grow. This is something everyone can unite around.”

The full text of Gatwick’s letter to the Prime Minister can be downloaded here.

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