London Gatwick’s Northern Runway to help drive £275m boost for Sussex tourism
London Gatwick’s Northern Runway could help unlock £275m a year for the Sussex visitor economy, as the region looks to attract more high-value international tourists.
If approved later this year, the airport’s proposals would enable an additional 1.6m international inbound passengers annually by 2038. This growth is central to ambitions for Sussex to raise its global profile and attract tourists who stay longer and spend more.
The Sussex Visitor Economy Growth Strategy’s target of an extra 500,000 international tourists a year by 2034 aims to grow the sector from £5bn to £7.5bn, with tourism already supporting more than 74,000 local jobs and accounting for 14% of the county’s employment. London Gatwick’s Northern Runway represents a key opportunity to unlock further growth in the region.
While overseas tourists currently make up just 2% of the total visitor numbers to Sussex, they contribute around 20% of all spending. Key to boosting this are new and expanded long-haul services to destinations such as Shanghai, Singapore and Dubai, with China also highlighted as a key market for growth within the strategy. Alongside developing connectivity across Southeast Asia and the Gulf, the airport is actively shaping the UK’s role as a global gateway with 54 long-haul routes already operating.
If approved, the Northern Runway could bring an additional 60,000 flights per year, including more long-haul routes with passenger numbers increasing to around 80.2m passengers per year in 2047.
Richard Lennard, Economic Partnerships Manager at London Gatwick and a member of the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) Advisory Board said: “The Northern Runway is about more than just increasing capacity. It’s about connecting the UK to the fastest-growing regions of the world and ensuring Sussex can share in the benefits of that global reach. By unlocking an additional 1.6m international inbound passengers a year by 2038, we’re not just meeting growing demand, we’re bringing new opportunities directly into our region with tourism being a catalyst of economic growth.”
London Gatwick already contributes 76,000 jobs and £5.5bn to the UK economy every year. If approved, the privately funded £2.2bn project to bring the existing Northern Runway into routine use will deliver a further 14,000 jobs and £1bn in growth for the regional economy each year.
- The Sussex Visitor Economy’s Growth Strategy aims to increase the number of overseas visitors by 33% which has an estimated impact of £275m for the county’s economy .
- Following the recent announcement that the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, is minded-to approve the airport’s Northern Runway plans, London Gatwick is engaging fully in the extended process toward a final decision. When approved, the privately financed £2.2bn project will deliver 14,000 new jobs and £1bn a year in economic benefits.
- London Gatwick is part of the newly established LVEP Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) Advisory Board.
With 43 million annual passengers, London Gatwick is the UK’s second largest and one of Europe’s top ten airports. It is a vital piece of national infrastructure that drives both the national and regional economies by generating £5.5 billion GVA and supporting over 76,000 jobs (2023). Almost 60 airlines fly from the airport to over 150 short-haul and more than 50 long-haul destinations. With a declared capacity of 55 movements an hour, London Gatwick is the most efficient single runway airport in the world.
The airport is located 28 miles south of the UK capital and is extremely well-connected, with more than a quarter of England’s population (15 million people) – including all of London – less than one hour away by road or rail. A six-year, £2bn sustainable growth programme includes an ambitious plan to be a net zero airport by 2030 and to increase capacity by bringing the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use, alongside its Main Runway. VINCI Airports owns a 50.01% stake in the airport, with Global Infrastructure Partners managing the remaining 49.99%.
VINCI Airports, as the leading private airport operator in the world, manages the development and operation of more than 70 airports located in 14 countries. VINCI Airports draws on its expertise as a comprehensive integrator to develop, finance, build and operate airports, leveraging its investment capability and know-how to optimise operational performance and modernise infrastructure while bringing about their environmental transition. In 2016, VINCI Airports became the first airport operator to commit to an international environmental strategy, setting itself the aim of reaching zero net emissions (Scope 1 and 2) across the network by 2050 while supporting the territories’ local climate transition.
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GIP’s scaled platform has over $170 billion in assets under management. We believe that our focus on real infrastructure assets, combined with our deep proprietary origination network and comprehensive operational expertise, enables us to be responsible stewards of our clients’ capital and to create positive economic impact for communities. For more information, visit www.global-infra.com.
