Article from BTNews 18 JUNE 2018
GATWICK MARCHES ON
The announcement last week of the UK Government ’s National Aviation Strategy and its focus on Heathrow gave Gatwick boss Stewart Wingate the opportunity at British-Irish Airports Expo to define the South London airport plans for the future.
The legal agreement with the local Councils not to build a second runway lapses after 40 years in August 2019.
The airport is currently assessing options to further optimise the main runway, the prospect of using the northern (emergency) runway, whilst the existing offering remains on the table should the Government support it in the future.
Gatwick says it is updating its masterplan for later this year. The last appraisal was 2012 just before the Airports Commission process began.
Speaking at the conference Mr Wingate announced a five-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for Gatwick Airport at the British-Irish Airports Expo in London. The airport will spend £1.11bn up to 2023, with £266m planned for 2018/19 alone.
Gatwick expects to continue growing its long-haul operation and predicts that passenger numbers will increase to nearly 53m by 2023. The airport is committed to exploring how to grow sustainably, while supporting the local and national economy, improving facilities and continuing to transform services for passengers. Since the airport changed ownership in December 2009 the total investment figure, combined with this new five-year plan rises to £3.14bn.
Wide-ranging projects are identified across the airport with a number of significant and exciting projects getting underway this year including a new reception centre for passengers with reduced mobility in the North Terminal.
There are major infrastructure projects under way mainly airside but here BTN only highlights those that will directly affect passengers.
• Pier 6 North Terminal Western Extension – Phase 1 works start with enabling Pier 5 to handle the A380 aircraft, so that it can move from its current home across the bridge on Pier 6. This work will also involve the widening and reconfiguration of a taxiway to accommodate the 80-metre wingspan of the A380.
• A new domestic arrivals facility, including a new baggage reclaim in South Terminal.
• A new mezzanine level extension in the North Terminal departure lounge to accommodate new restaurants.
• Trial of biometric auto-boarding technology in the North Terminal and extending the roll-out of self-service bag drop across both Terminals. (See BTN 21 May).
• Re-development of South Terminal hotel capacity and completion of a long-stay car park decking project, providing an additional 1,200 car parking spaces for summer 2018.
Mr Wingate, said:
“Gatwick is a major piece of national infrastructure, and our continued growth and ability to attract long-haul airlines is vital for the health of the UK economy, particularly in a post-Brexit world. We are exploring ways to grow our capacity, including developing new systems and processes to handle more passengers, and considering how we use all our existing infrastructure in the future.
“By committing to spend another £1.11bn, Gatwick can continue to grow sustainably, attract new airlines and offer more global connections, while providing an excellent service to passengers.
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the most efficient single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 228 destinations in 74 countries for 45m passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South East region, generating around 24,000 on-airport jobs and a further 12,000 jobs through related activities. The airport has direct rail links to both east (London Bridge) and west (Victoria) London is part of the Oyster contactless payment network.
Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
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