Gatwick Airport plans additional 90,000 flights by 2038 under redevelopment proposals
A proposed 90,000 additional flights could bring 28 million more passengers to Britain's second busiest airport by 2038, if plans for a second runway take off.
A new report has claimed Gatwick Airport could sustain the extra travellers and movements if a planning application is approved to allow changes to be made to its northern runway.
The landing strip is currently only used when the main runway is closed.
Alongside bringing the emergency tarmac into regular use, the West Sussex airport intends to extend its north and south terminals and build three new hotels - two of which will have more than 400 beds each.
The anticipated changes could increase its capacity by 30 million, compared to the 46 million who used the airport in 2018, the scoping report submitted to the planning inspectorate earlier this month has claimed.
The project is part of the airport's 2019 master plan, which the report says is a "direct response" to the Government's policy of making the best use of existing runways.
Gatwick lost out to Heathrow in a bid to obtain Government approval to build an additional runway, amid a need for more airport capacity in the South East.
The report says construction work could begin in 2021, with the altered northern runway fully operational by 2026.
Extensions to the terminal buildings would likely take place between 2025 and 2029, the report said, while the hotels and commercial facilities would not be completed until 2032.
Local campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions claimed earlier this year that the plan would lead to "a second runway by stealth" and accused the airport of being "the neighbour from hell".