Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said yesterday (22 September) that she was approving a development consent order submitted by the West Sussex airport to deliver the runway. Under £2.2 billion plans submitted to the planning inspectorate in August 2023, Gatwick would move an existing emergency runway by 12m to enable its regular use. She continued: ‘This extra runway at Gatwick will mean that people going on holiday will have a greater choice of destinations. Backed by the Arora Group, a land owner at Heathrow Airport, the scheme claims to be more cost-effective. The latest announcement comes 11 years after Terry Farrell unveiled ‘state-of-the-art’ designs for an expanded £7 billion Gatwick Airport featuring two runways.