Campaigners Lose Court Fight Against Gatwick Airport Expansion

A group of campaigners in the UK has lost its final legal battle against plans to expand Gatwick Airport. The group, called Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne), and a man named Peter Barclay had asked a higher court to block the expansion. Two senior judges turned down their request on Tuesday, saying the challenges had no real chance of winning.

The expansion plan involves moving Gatwick's emergency runway about 12 meters to the north. This change would allow the airport to handle 100,000 more flights each year. The project is expected to cost around £2.2 billion. Gatwick is already the UK's second busiest airport and one of the busiest single-runway airports in the entire world.

Cagne and Barclay had argued in January that the expansion was unlawful. They said the government did not properly look at how the project would affect the climate. They also said the expansion was not needed, especially since Heathrow Airport is nearby. A judge named Mr Justice Mould had already dismissed those arguments back in June, calling the government's decision 'neither illogical nor contradictory.'

After that ruling, Barclay and Cagne asked the Court of Appeal to take another look at the case. They believed the first judge had made mistakes. But Lord Justice Holgate and Lord Justice Dove reviewed the case and disagreed. In a 29-page ruling, they wrote that every argument made by the campaigners was 'unarguable' and that there were no good reasons to hear the appeals.

Barclay said he was very disappointed with the court's decision. He said the group had fought as hard as it could because it truly believed the expansion was 'fundamentally flawed.' He claimed the project would only benefit the airport and airlines, while hurting local residents and the climate. Cagne added that residents should be proud for trying to hold the airport's shareholders responsible.

The chief executive of London Gatwick, Pierre-Hugues Schmit, welcomed the ruling. He said the approval of the expansion 'was taken properly and lawfully.' He also said the decision ends an eight-year planning and legal process that tested every part of the expansion plans many times over. Schmit said the project is now expected to move into its design and delivery phase.

Schmit added that the Northern Runway project is expected to create 14,000 new jobs. He also said it could give the economy a £1 billion boost every single year. The expanded airport will be able to handle more narrow-bodied planes, like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Supporters of the project say it will be a big win for the region and the country.