Getting Gatwick’s expansion off the ground should never have been this hard | Nils Pratley

<p>After years of dithering, ministers have finally backed the obvious choice</p><p>Just when you feared indecision was final over expansion at Gatwick airport, here comes an actual piece of policymaking: Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has given a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/gatwick-given-green-light-for-22bn-second-runway-plan">thumbs-up to a second runway</a>. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, followed up by <a href="https://x.com/Peter_Henley/status/1970079933079970188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1970079933079970188%7Ctwgr%5Eccca7855c076337e3c373a23c5024a14f3e4642b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2Flive%2F2025%2Fsep%2F22%2Frachel-reeves-gatwick-second-runway-growth-jobs-environmental-disaster-business-live-news">landing an Airbus A320</a> in a flight simulator in West Sussex. Assuming legal challenges are overcome, it is possible to believe the new runway will be operational by 2030.</p><p>Give thanks that the holding pattern is finally over. Few proposed infrastructure projects capture the UK’s inability to get on with the job quite like Gatwick. The airport has been arguing for expansion for more than a decade on the grounds that it is approaching full capacity and the spadework is relatively easy – shifting an emergency runway 12 metres north to allow it to be used as part of normal operations.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2025/sep/22/getting-gatwicks-expansion-off-the-ground-should-never-have-been-this-hard">Continue reading...</a>